People who wrap themselves in the flag
are determined to live "out of control."
***
"The Anarchy of The Rich"
G.K. Chesterton
http://paxonbothhouses.blogspot.com/2013/10/gk-chesterton-anarchy-of-rich.html
***
Obamacare beats its enrollment projection for January. "The Obama administration has beaten a monthly health insurance enrollment target for the first time, according to data released Wednesday showing that more than 1.14 million people signed up for health plans in January in the new insurance marketplace. The latest enrollment data from the Obama administration show that 3.3 million people have signed up for private health insurance through federal and state insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act. This figure represents all enrollment from Oct. 1 through Feb. 1. It includes both people who have and have not paid their first month's premium. Of those people, 1,146,100 selected their health insurance plans in January, meaning there was a 53 percent increase enrollment last month alone. This makes January the first month that the Obama administration has beaten an enrollment target. Back in September, way before HealthCare.gov's botched launch, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services projected that 1,059,900 people would sign up for private health insurance in January." Sarah Kliff in The Washington Post.
Democrats cheer new Obamacare enrollment figures. "Congressional Democratic leaders Wednesday touted newly released enrollment figures showing that the Obama administration has beaten a monthly health insurance enrollment target for the first time as evidence that Americans are beginning to see the benefits of the new law. Speaking at the start of their annual policy retreat being held here on Maryland's Eastern Shore, House Minority Whip Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said he was especially pleased to see that young people enrolled at a higher rate than in December." Ed O'Keefe in The Washington Post.
@MikeGrunwald: After the wall-to-wall media frenzy over Obamacare starting slow, I bet it will be huge news that it's caught up! #notreally
The uninsured rate is at a five-year low. Is Obamacare the reason? "Gallup's newest poll shows another decline in the uninsured rate, in a survey taken in late January and early February. It found that 16 percent of American adults reported lacking insurance coverage, the lowest number Gallup has recorded since 2009...What's more interesting about this one, though, is it includes a breakdown of where people are getting health insurance--one that would suggest the health-care law played a role in this new drop. It shows that more people report getting their health insurance through the individual market and Medicaid than in the last quarter of 2013." Sarah Kliff in The Washington Post.
Problem: Still not a lot of competition on Obamacare exchanges. "Hundreds of thousands of Americans in poorer counties have few choices of health insurers and face high premiums through the online exchanges created by the health-care law, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal of offerings in 36 states. Consumers in 515 counties, spread across 15 states, have only one insurer selling coverage through the online marketplaces, the Journal found. In more than 80% of those counties, the sole insurer is a local Blue Cross & Blue Shield plan...The average price for a 50-year-old American to obtain the cheapest midlevel "silver plan" through HealthCare.gov--the marketplace operated by the federal government--was $406 in counties with one health insurer, the Journal found. In counties with four insurers, the average price of the cheapest comparable silver plan was $329. The price differences reflect the strategy of insurers to pick markets where they believe they can turn a profit--and avoid areas of high unemployment and a concentration of unhealthy residents they deem more risky." Timothy W. Martin and Christopher Weaver in The Wall Street Journal.
@JohnJHarwood: given latest data (3.3-M enrolled through Feb 1) won't be too surprising if Obamacare exchanges end up in 7-M neighborhood after all
Youth Obamacare enrollment groups surprised to learn that Healthcare.gov won't work on National Youth Enrollment Day. ""We just found that out," said Aaron Smith, co-founder of the recruitment group Young Invincibles. "Obviously it's unfortunate." "It's not ideal," another Obamacare ally said." Evan McMorris-Santoro in BuzzFeed.
KRUGMAN: Unskewing Obamacare. "[E]very online article I've seen about the latest numbers is followed by a huge number of vitriolic comments insisting that it isn't true, that Obamacare is a total disaster. Some commenters declare that all the numbers are lies; others, getting their take from right-wing bloggers, say that all of those who have signed up but not yet paid their first premium - ahem, 47 percent of the total - will never pay and are fake enrollees. And so on. You can't help but notice the resemblance to the "unskewing" fever of the final weeks of the 2012 election" Paul Krugman in The New York Times.
PHILIP KLEIN: Massachusetts Obamacare signups at just 5 percent of original target. "In 11 states including Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Maine and New Hampshire, signups are more than 100 percent of projected enrollments. On the other hand, in 13 states signups are tracking at less than 50 percent of original targets. Though supporters of the health care law have tried to point fingers at Republican states for trying to sabotage enrollment efforts, the worst-performing states were among those that were most gung-ho about implementing the law, including Massachusetts, Oregon, Maryland and the District of Columbia." Philip Klein in The Washington Examiner.
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