ADVERTISEMENT

Ellison's Must Read of the Day

November 17, 2014

My must read of the day is "Obamacare’s second season opens with minor enrollment snags," Politico:

HealthCare.gov is certainly capable of signing people up for insurance, with more than 7 million enrolled as of mid-October nationwide, a majority through the federal portal. Now it’s got to prove it can help them re-enroll, either by sticking with the plan they have or choosing a new one. If they don’t act by Dec. 15, the site will do it for them. Officials have tested these functions, but none has yet been put to use.

"We’re in uncharted waters," said Karen Ignagni, CEO of America’s Health Insurance Plans.

Bringing new people on — which is key to keeping insurers in the program and stabilizing the new markets — will be harder than in year one. The individuals who were most eager to get coverage have already done so, and the remaining uninsured population knows remarkably little about what the law offers. About 90 percent don’t know open enrollment begins this month, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Nearly half don’t know they might be eligible for subsidies.

People with insurance through the exchanges are overwhelmingly satisfied with their coverage, but overall support for the legislation has dropped to the lowest figure since December 2012.

The website is working, but not perfectly and there are still kinks that need to be sorted out.

On one hand, premiums increased, but on the flip side the increases are about the same as what you see under plans provided through employers.

I always say that there’s not really enough information to determine if the law is succeeding or failing. I don’t think that’s changed, and it certainly didn’t change over the course of two days. Generalizations and polls help us have a broad idea of the law, but its impacts are ultimately felt on an individual basis. Data can tell me if a premium increase is astronomical or widely abnormal, but it can’t me how it impacts the pocketbook of a person living in Rabun Gap, Georgia.

I always find it arrogant when people assume that because an increase isn’t that bad on paper; it’s fine for most people. It might not be, and ultimately who are we to say what one person can or cannot afford?

Politically, recent news on the law can benefit either party, but the reality is we need more time to figure out how well, or poorly, it’s working.