Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) “took out the trash,” making a major (and majorly disappointing) Obamacare announcement on a Friday afternoon to avoid as many headlines as possible.
According to the latest Obamacare enrollment data, HHS failed to meet its own goals again:
Letdown #1: Number of people to purchase health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges by the end of 2015
Expectation*: 13 million active, premium-paying people will be enrolled through the Obamacare exchanges by the end of 2015.
*Revised Expectation (due to high attrition rates): 9.1 million active, premium-paying people will be enrolled through the Obamacare exchanges by the end of 2015.
Today’s Reality: 8.78 million active, premium-paying people were enrolled through the Obamacare exchanges as of the end of 2015.
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Letdown #2: Number of people to purchase health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges by the end of 2016
Expectation: When the law passed, government and outside research organizations predicted between 21 and 27 million active, premium-paying people will enroll through the Obamacare exchanges by the end of 2016.
Today’s Reality: 10 million active, premium-paying people — less than half of what the CBO projected in 2010 — will enroll through the Obamacare exchanges by the end of 2016.
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Letdown #3: Proportion of younger, healthier people enrolled through the Obamacare exchanges
Expectation: Individual mandate will encourage younger, healthier Americans to purchase health insurance through the Obamacare exchanges, offsetting the cost of enrollees who are more expensive to insure.
Today’s Reality: More younger, healthier Americans are opting to pay a tax penalty rather than pay Obamacare’s high premiums and even higher deductibles. This drives up the overall cost of Obamacare for everyone because the majority of the enrollees are more expensive to insure.
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Why are the real numbers so much lower than the Administration expected? Because Obamacare health plans are just not worth the high cost. Americans want affordable, high–quality health care coverage — not the government-mandated, expensive plans, limited choices, and lower quality coverage that come with Obamacare.
As the Administration continues trying to hide the sad reality of its own law, House Republicans are working to develop a patient-centered health care system that improves access, choice, and quality; lowers costs; promotes innovation; and strengthens the safety net for the most vulnerable Americans.