The eight-million-ObamaCare-enrollment number that President Obama touted as success earlier in the spring has since deflated. The problem is that we don’t know just how much. However, as states report their own attrition rates, the picture is clearing up more and more.
Florida released its current enrollment numbers. More than 220,000 people now have dropped out of the state’s ObamaCare exchange because they either never paid their first month’s premiums or didn’t like their plans. That’s a nearly a quarter (23 percent) of the original total.
The Administration has been hesitant to release updated enrollment numbers and it’s likely for this reason. If dropout rates are consistent, then a generous guestimate puts current enrollment at about six million but it could easily be less. That sends a signal about just what Americans want and can afford, and it doesn’t bode well for the next enrollment push later this fall.
The Business Journal reports:
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported in May that Florida had 983,775 enrollees in the exchange as of April 19. That marked the end of the annual signup period for plans on the exchange.
Yet, insurance companies reported 762,723 members on exchange plans when they filed for their new rates in June, according to a study by Jack McDermott, director of life and health insurance products for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. That’s a difference of 221,052, or 22 percent.
OIR spokesman Harvey Bennett said reasons the enrollment numbers are lower could include members who didn’t pay their first premium after signing up, those who decided to drop out or duplicate enrollees.
If the goal of the Affordable Care Act is to provide affordable coverage to (uninsured) Americans, as we’ve reported, this law has missed the mark. If you can’t afford to pay for your new ObamaCare plans, then they failed to meet that bar of being financially viable for those who need it. We don’t know if those who dropped their coverage qualified for taxpayer subsidies, but if they did and they still couldn’t find the monthly funds in their budget that too sends a message.
There are some who may have just found a better deal in the private marketplace. However, there has been some confusion around this area. The Administration smartly advertised ObamaCare plans as just another private option, but they aren’t. They are a semi-private option funded by public tax dollars.
ObamaCare is a bad deal for Americans. As Americans confront with the new costs, they understand just how much fact trumps talking points and big promises.