Has Obamacare reached its goal of 7 million sign ups?

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OBAMACARE ENROLLMENT PERIOD ENDS WITH MASSIVE SURGE

By: Joanne Kenen and Kyle Cheney
March 31, 2014 07:02 AM EDT

The first open enrollment season of Obamacare ended at midnight Monday, a day that saw millions of Americans click onto Obamacare sign-up portals, dial into call centers and stand in long lines at assistance sites nationwide. The huge surge made it increasingly likely that enrollment would hit 7 million, the finish line that seemed out of reach during much of the often rocky six-month period.

Shortly after 10 p.m., the Associated Press cited two sources that said sign-ups were “on track” to hit 7 million. Administration officials wouldn’t confirm the number but said that signs were pointing in that direction.

The HealthCare.Gov website took down enrollment forms just after midnight and displayed a new message that will transition people into a “special enrollment” period.

“Don’t worry,” it said. “We’ll still help you get the coverage you need for this year.”

Federal health officials said the site would reappear in a new guise Tuesday morning with instructions for post-March 31 sign-ups. Those will be open to people who self-report that they tried to make the deadline but failed. Depending on how long special enrollment goes on, enrollment numbers could still rise significantly.

The last official day of the Obamacare coverage push was hit by a double whammy of new HealthCare.gov glitches that caused confusion and delay. The federal website was down for six hours early Monday morning. Then it was up. Then it activated its “virtual waiting room.” Then it blocked newcomers from creating accounts accounts.

Then it was working again, with officials reporting more than 1.6 million visitors by 2 p.m. and more than 3 million by 8 p.m. State exchanges reported similar surges. The federal site queued visitors when traffic rose, offering them a chance to get an email notification when the site would be less congested. It held through the night, despite the crush of visitors.

State-run exchanges are also giving grace periods to people who started but didn’t finish. Some have set stricter criteria for the extensions than others.

The technical problems, a flashback to HealthCare.gov’s botched launch last October, weren’t the focus the White House wanted as it tried to spur more Americans to be part of the late enrollment momentum. The intensity and tone of the White House messaging over these last days had evoked a confident turnout push on the eve of a close election. Suddenly it was about the glitchy website once again.

But as the day wore on, the final surge kept growing — although it will be some time before it is known precisely how many of these people will finalize their enrollment by paying their premiums, how many were previously uninsured, and, perhaps most important, how many end up liking their new coverage well enough to help Democrats construct a counter narrative.

Numerous polls show the law remains controversial and unpopular, and the Republicans have steadily blamed the Affordable Care Act for harming the economy, raising costs, killing jobs and depriving people of access to doctors of their choice. Even some moderate Democrats, facing tough re-election fights, want to change aspects of the four-year-old law.

Administration officials again hit the road and the airwaves Monday, touting the benefits of subsidized health insurance and celebrating the historic sign-up momentum. President Barack Obama was in Italy and Saudi Arabia last week and hasn’t given enrollment an in-person nudge since his return. But the White House released humorous photos of him and first lady Michelle Obama and even the family dogs Bo and Sunny urging everyone to get covered.

Vice President Joe Biden appeared on the “Rachael Ray Show,” talking health care — and skin care. “I think everyone is going to be surprised and pleased at how this has turned out,” the ever-garrulous vice president said in pre-recorded comments that sounded discordant against the surprise headlines about website woes.

Later, Biden went to a school in Washington where people were getting help with their applications and thanked everyone.

“You are going to be better off for it. The country is going to be better off for it. So thank you,” he told them.

Enrollment had surpassed the revised 6 million threshold as of last Wednesday.

The HealthCare.gov glitches Monday were nowhere near as severe as those of October. These were repaired in hours; those lasted two devastating months when the fate of the law was in the balance. Still, it wasn’t what the administration wanted for the final narrative, and whether or how much the latest technical troubles suppressed or discouraged last-day shoppers may never be known.

“I know there’s been a lot of focus on glitches — but there has been a remarkable story since the dark days of October and November,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said at his daily briefing, as a monitor behind him showed photographs of long sign-up lines in places like Alabama, Texas and Florida, red states where the governors have been hostile to the president’s health care law.

Republicans focused on the big picture: not what might be wrong with the website but what in their view is wrong with the whole law.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that “millions of Americans [are] facing higher premiums, canceled plans and the loss of doctors and hospitals they liked as a result of this law.” Once again, he called for it to be scrapped.

Since the “tech surge” repaired the HealthCare.gov mess around Thanksgiving, the portal has largely accommodated waves of traffic. Outages have been fairly infrequent and relatively short.

Monday’s problems are likely to postpone getting a true, complete picture of the exchange population. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told an Oklahoma television station that 80 to 90 percent have paid their premiums. That’s an industry estimate, not an independent HHS tally, and it’s likely to be in flux for at least a few more weeks.

State enrollment has varied, not just based on politics but on the mechanics of the exchange. Maryland never got its exchange working; California blew by its targets.

The end of enrollment marks just one phase in the Obamacare wars. With millions gaining coverage through the federal- and state-run exchanges, Medicaid or by staying on their parents’ plan until age 26, Democrats can show the health care law’s benefits to voters before the 2014 mid-term elections.

But Republicans, buoyed by recent polls reaffirming Obamacare’s unpopularity and signs that candidates running against the law are gaining steam, plan to make it the centerpiece of their own sales pitch to Americans through November. The law, they argue, is driving up the cost of care, destabilizing the economy and forcing millions off their existing health plans.

Jennifer Haberkorn and Jessica Meyers contributed to this report.

© 2014 POLITICO LLC

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...197.html?hp=f1

If you believe anything that comes out of this White House after all the demonstrated lying then you are a bigger fool than I thought.

If you believe anything that comes out of this White House after all the demonstrated lying then you are a bigger fool than I thought. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

when you come up with evidence the aca #'S ARE MADE UP please post it


you thought?

So......7 million more people have heath insurance than before right?

Really????

I wonder how long those that signed on who never had insurance before will still be on it in a year from now?

And we all get to keep our doctors right?

And my insurance is supposed to be cheaper right?

And my coverage is better too now right?

And if I don't have insurance I will be "Fined" by the IRS.....and even still, I can't be denied heath care...right? What will that money be used for once the IRS has it?

Nobody can deny me insurance now because of a preexisting condition right?

So ...If I get into a car accident today and get seriously injured and will require over $10 million over my lifetime in care....I can get insurance tomorrow to cover it....Right?

And if I wasn't able to work because of my injury the government would subsidize my premiums right? Would by also subsidize my deductible too?

It sounds too good to be true.

There is a pain between my ears.

the only thing you're supposed to be is a communist

So......7 million more people have heath insurance than before right?

Really????

I wonder how long those that signed on who never had insurance before will still be on it in a year from now?

And we all get to keep our doctors right?

And my insurance is supposed to be cheaper right?

And my coverage is better too now right?

And if I don't have insurance I will be "Fined" by the IRS.....and even still, I can't be denied heath care...right? What will that money be used for once the IRS has it?

Nobody can deny me insurance now because of a preexisting condition right?

So ...If I get into a car accident today and get seriously injured and will require over $10 million over my lifetime in care....I can get insurance tomorrow to cover it....Right?

And if I wasn't able to work because of my injury the government would subsidize my premiums right? Would by also subsidize my deductible too?

It sounds too good to be true.

There is a pain between my ears. Originally Posted by TheDaliLama

Влади́мир Влади́мирович Пу́тин


fuck you.

What thinking person would put trust in the propaganda and lies that are promoted by Team Obama....

its up to you to prove said propaganda to be propaganda ... so get to proving or you're a liar

you decide

If you believe anything that comes out of this White House after all the demonstrated lying then you are a bigger fool than I thought. Originally Posted by JD Barleycorn

Yes, the clever response when faced with any statistic or fact that cuts against your argument.....LIES. ALL LIES!!!!

Dunce.

What thinking person would put trust in the propaganda and lies that are promoted by Team Obama.... Originally Posted by Whirlaway

You believe every word of Breitdead, Rush, and the rest of the RWW, you dumbass. You parrot what they're talking about every single day on this board. Haven't had an original thought since FOX News went on the air.

Pot, kettle, black.

OK, Obamacare is working. OK, people are signing up. OK, some are paying more, some are paying less ... a LOT less.

BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT!

Let's see, you want everybody in American to NOT have access to healthcare or affordable health insurance and you want Russia to invade the US because Putin is your hero. And, all Mexicans have to go home. And your guns are being grabbed every single day. And al-Quaeda blew up the plane ... doesn't really matter what plane... they did it.

Is that right?

Just checking.

And al-Quaeda blew up the plane ... doesn't really matter what plane... they did it. Originally Posted by Yssup Rider

And all of this time I thought "da plane da plane" was parked on some deserted island, covered up with pot plants!

And all of this time I thought "da plane da plane" was located on some deserted island, covered up with pot plants! Originally Posted by bigtex

230 passengers wearing camo suits standing on top of the plane holding a tree limb in each hand

Here ya go folks, 7 mil & counting!

White House: 7 million signed up for Obamacare

By: Joanne Kenen and Kyle Cheney
April 1, 2014 07:54 AM EDT

More than 7 million people signed up for health insurance through Affordable Care Act exchanges through Monday night’s deadline, White House press secretary Jay Carney announced.

A total of 7,041,000 people signed up, Carney said, and that number doesn’t include enrollment surges that took place in the 14 states running their own insurance marketplaces.

President Barack Obama will speak Tuesday afternoon about the 7 million figure and reaching a target widely seen as unattainable after the botched website rollout last fall.

Obama learned about the final total on Tuesday morning, Carney said.

Carney said the administration expects that the final numbers will also show sharply higher enrollment by young adults, but he said no demographic breakdowns are available yet and was unable to say how many of the enrollees were previously uninsured. The law’s impact on the uninsured, he said, was intended to be measured over three years.

He called estimates that 40 percent of all enrollees must be young and healthy a “red herring” and that enough young people had already enrolled to keep Obamacare exchanges stable.

Carney also ripped Republicans for what he said was a laser-focus on undermining the law — an effort he said “has come to naught and it will come to naught.” He stopped short of saying all Democrats should tout the law in the midterm elections, in part because of what he said was withering pushback by deep-pocketed opponents of the law.

“Folks out there who want to take those benefits away from the American people … have spent and will spend millions of dollars making their argument, often using false examples and false facts,” he said.

Obama’s statement in the Rose Garden will be a chance for him to bask in some rare good news about the Affordable Care Act, with the surging sign-up finish re-energizing allies.

“We are feeling good. It’s been amazing to see the consumer interest and the work that’s been done on the ground. … Yes, I am smiling!” said Anne Filipic, president of Enroll America.

Signs that enrollment was shattering expectations emerged early Monday as reports from the administration indicated record-high traffic on HealthCare.gov and the site’s call center. Administration officials estimated Tuesday that the enrollment portal saw 4.8 million visitors and the call center took 2 million calls.

The president’s remarks come at the start of a new phase for the health care law — a “special enrollment” window for people who couldn’t get covered in time to meet Monday’s deadline.

The home page on HealthCare.gov states that the sign-up season is over, but it prominently reminds people that they may still have a chance to get covered, whether they ran into technical glitches as they tried to apply or if they experience a major life change such as marriage or a job change that affects their insurance coverage.

“If you were trying to enroll on our system by the March 31 enrollment deadline for coverage in 2014 and didn’t finish, we may still be able to help you get covered,” the Department of Health and Human Services wrote in a post on the site.

After clicking through a “see if you can still get coverage” section, individuals can return to their earlier account and complete their application. A reminder note on the site urges eligible people to finish up soon.

“This opportunity will be available for a short period of time. You should complete enrollment as quickly as possible,” the note reads.

There’s also an 800 number for more help and a green button that says “apply.”

Extra time will be available for people who encountered a range of problems, including getting inaccurate health plan information displayed on the website, having an insurer wrongly reject an application, being shunted back and forth incorrectly between the exchange and Medicaid, having unresolved complex family situations and receiving the broadly worded “other system errors that kept you from enrolling.”

Requests will be reviewed, but HHS previously said that the process will basically operate on an honor system.

As with most insurance plans, people can also sign up outside of the open enrollment season if they move, change jobs, get married or divorced, or have other life events that impact their coverage.

In addition, eligible low-income people can sign up for Medicaid at any time without any deadline. Small businesses, too, can enroll workers in so-called SHOP exchanges year-round.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/0...239.html?hp=t1

© 2014 POLITICO LLC

Dumb shit BigMex drinks the White House kool aid believing their phony numbers !

DumbTex probably still believes "Benghazi was the result of You Tube video" lie !

DumbTex, you believe Obama's "you can keep your doctor" lie too ?