Obamacare Exchanges Disappointing

Fewer Than 4 Million Newly Insured. 

The Government Hoped for 26 Million.

Courtesy, The Daily Signal, June 24  

In April, President Obama told the nation that "marketplace" or "exchange" enrollment, at 8 million customers as of March 31, had exceeded expectations and costs were lower than expected.

Many in the news media accepted the selectively released statistics, despite the Obama administration's record of sometimes providing inaccurate or incomplete information on HealthCare.gov. Even today, the government continues to withhold relevant public information on costs and enrollment requested by Congress and the press under the Freedom of Information Act.

In fact, the measure of the Affordable Care Act's success rests neither with individual anecdotes nor in the Obama administration's self-assessments. It's a long-term process that many analysts say will take years to unfold.

One thing that's not in question: The insurance industry already has been largely transformed.

Many who were considered uninsurable now have affordable policies. But the Affordable Care Act has shifted the cost burden for those who already had insurance. More policies now have bigger deductibles and cost more.

"In general, healthy people are paying more and unhealthy people are paying less," says a source who supports and helped implement Obamacare but is disappointed with the results to date, "with those above-average [income] tending to pay more and those below-average [income] tending to pay less."

"Is the new law effective in reducing the number of uninsured? Yes, but so far not very," he says.

Key questions include:

• How many actually have enrolled?
• How many of those were previously uninsured?
• How has Obamacare affected the overall pool of uninsured?
• What percentage of eligible people have signed up?
• What's the cost?

Enrollment: Less Than Advertised

The administration hasn't released any enrollment figures in the last 2 ½ months, and a spokesman from the government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which helps oversee Obamacare, said the agency is not likely to issue any updates soon. 

 As of March 31, according to the Obama administration, 8 million people signed up for private insurance in the Health Insurance Marketplace, exceeding its target of 7 million. 

"The Affordable Care Act is working," said an April 17 White House fact sheet. "It is giving millions of middle class Americans the health care security they deserve, it is slowing the growth of health care costs and it has brought transparency and competition to the Health Insurance Marketplace."

But the 8 million figure is overstated because it counted people who weren't actually covered because they hadn't paid their premiums, which Blue Cross, analysts and the government agree is in the 15 percent to 20 percent range.

Therefore, the actual number of Obamacare enrollees as of March 31 was likely between 6.4 million and 6.8 million, below both the administration's figure of 8 million and its stated target of 7 million. 

Nobody from the White House responded to repeated requests for comment. A spokesman for CMS said there were no plans to release figures on paid enrollment, even though health policy analyst Robert Laszewski says the administration could provide the number in days or even hours if it wanted to.

Democrats on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, led by Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, released a fact sheet using data from 13 insurance companies that said actual health exchange enrollments exceeded insurance company projections by 4 percent.

"This result was achieved despite significant challenges with federal and state websites," said Cummings.

To read more, click here.

  HHS Announces 

Auto-Enrollment Plans for Current Marketplace Consumers for 2015

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expects to announce its plans for helping existing Marketplace consumers get auto-enrolled for next year.  These plans would give existing consumers a simple way to remain in the same plan next year unless they want to shop for another plan and choose to make changes.

"As we plan for open enrollment in year two and continue to build a sustainable long-term system, we are committed to simplifying the experience for consumers by allowing auto-enrollment," said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Secretary of HHS. "We are working to streamline the process for consumers wishing to remain in their current plan."

In today's health insurance market, the vast majority of consumers are generally auto-enrolled in their plan year after year.  For example, about 88 percent of employees receiving coverage through the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program don't choose to change plans and are instead auto-enrolled in their current plan with updated premiums and benefits.  These guidelines aim to bring the Marketplace in line with this practice in the existing insurance market.

As with existing open enrollment periods for employer-based coverage, consumers are strongly encouraged to use the open enrollment period as an opportunity to update their information and reevaluate their health coverage needs for the coming year.

Consumers always have the ability to return to the system for shopping, changing plans, or reporting life changes, or a change to their annual income to ensure they are getting the lowest cost possible on their monthly premium. And, to help ensure the program integrity of how taxpayer dollars are spent, while also protecting consumers from having to pay back tax credits they are no longer eligible for, under the approach that the Federally-facilitated Marketplace would use in 2015, the small number of consumers whose updated income information suggests they no longer qualify for a tax credit next year, will still be auto-enrolled in their current plan, but without a tax credit. State-based Marketplaces may take this approach as well, or propose an alternative.

Under the plans that HHS expects to announce consumers in the Federally-facilitated Marketplace will receive notices from the Marketplace informing them how to update their information to get a tailored and updated tax credit that keeps up with any income changes.

Consumers will receive information from their health insurance company about the premium and the amount they are eligible to save on their monthly bill close to the beginning of the open enrollment period, when they will be able to take action should they choose to do so.

"We are continuing to plan for a second open enrollment period, and as we do so, are mindful of our ongoing work to improve the Marketplace for consumers, offering families a way to make the choices that meet their health care needs year after year," said Marilyn Tavenner, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). 

We are also announcing plans for additional flexibility for State-based Marketplaces in this area, including the ability for State-based Marketplaces to propose unique approaches that meet the specific needs of their State, while streamlining the consumer experience.