On Sunday, the Obama Administration unveiled the Obamacare enrollment numbers and no matter how the right-wing pundits spin i,t the numbers were encouraging for proponents of the Affordable Care Act. ?Independent experts are calling ?for millions to be enrolled by the end of the year.
Once you factor in the state-run exchanges, the new private insurance plans within Obamacare’s umbrella have enrolled over two million people. The federal website?Health Care. Gov?serves 36 states. The 14 state-run exchanges up to this recent surge have been out performing the federal site with its well documented roll out problems. However, this end of the year breakout suggests that the federal site is starting to crank up.?Dan Mendelson, president of health research firm Avalere Health says:
It was a very impressive December. The fact that they have about 2 million enrolled is not that far off from 3.3 million.
This news could not come at a better time for the Democrats gearing up for the fast approaching 2014 election cycle. With the Republican party still smarting from the government shutdown debacle and now facing the potential ?blame for kicking people off the unemployment rolls, the last thing the Republican party wants to see is an improving health care law they obstructed, demonized, and vilified as the end of the world as we know it.
But, in fairness what looked like a first round bust back in October Obamacare now looks like the comeback kid here at the end of the year.
The Affordable Health Care Act is not out of the woods by any stretch of the imagination. There are a series of dates that are approaching that will represent paramount moments in the life history of this landmark health reform law. For example on ?January 1, 2014, the ACA becomes real for many Americans when?coverage through the insurance exchanges and key patient protections kick in. Insurance industry consultant Robert Laszewski says:
They’ve got the front end of the system working really well. Now we can move on to the next question: Do people really want to buy this?
In addition, the Obama Administration also noted that the 4.7 million people who lost coverage due to the policy not meeting the health laws reforms requirements will not be penalized takes yet another Republican talking point from their arsenal.
Earlier this year, the ?CBO?(Congressional Budget Office), a?nonpartisan agency, projected that the federal exchange, alongside 14 state-run Web sites, would sell?7 million?people insurance policies in 2014.?That figure which seemed unrealistic back in October now seems very attainable.
The basic structure of that law is working despite all the problems ? despite the website problems, despite the messaging problems.
( Source:?President Barack Obama)
But, the major milestone dates that will tell the story on just what the Affordable Care Act ?plays in the upcoming 2014 elections is still yet undetermined. The outcome of these test will certainly set the narrative for the fledgling Republican party who are running out of talking points by the second.
Here are some bullet points concerning these dates.
Jan 1. Obamacare Begins?
- Coverage Begins on News Year Day.
- No More denial for pre-existing conditions.
- Countdown for the ?individual mandate.?
Jan 10. First Payments Are Due?
- Mark this one in your diaries: Almost any marketplace customer who signed up by the Christmas Eve deadline will?have until only Jan. 10?to pay their first month’s premium and make sure they’re covered for any January medical bills. In some cases, insurers may have extended the deadline because of Healthcare.gov’s technical issues, but be sure to check it out before assuming. (Source:?Bustle)
Mar 31. Open Enrollment Ends
- The last chance for most people to sign up through the federal marketplace.
- Anyone whose preexisting health insurance was canceled because of Obamacare will be exempt from the fine.
- Technical problems with the website that hamper the enrollment process, will be given extensions.
Nov 15. Open Enrollment For 2015 Start.
Jan 1, 2015.?Employer?Mandates And?Individual?Penalties Kick In
- Employers with over 50 workers will have to pay a tax penalty of $2,000 per employee if they don’t offer healthcare plans.
In conclusion, with many of the glitches in the federal website now being resolved and the success stories starting ?to circulate, the Republican party has a real talking points problem already staring them in the face with the 2014 elections just around the corner. They can’t attack the Democrats on the economy unless something unforeseen surfaces. The Tea party and Libertarian elements of the party have clearly created a rift within the party itself. And with their one rallying cry, Obamacare, now beginning to turn the corner in a positive direction, the Republicans are flapping in the wind.
Edited/Published by: SB
