ACA: Enrollment Passes 8 Million, Uninsured Rate Lowest Since 2008

The Obama administration announced last month that enrollments in the ACA exchanges topped eight million.

As of April 19, 8.019 million people had signed up for Obamacare plans – an impressive national average despite a large disparity between individual state enrollments. Some states missed their enrollment targets by a wide margin, while others more than doubled their goal.

In addition to marketplace policies, 4.8 million consumers enrolled in Medicaid plans in their states between October 1 and April 19, and nearly five million consumers purchased policies outside the exchanges. Altogether, the administration estimates that up to 18 million consumers have purchased new healthcare policies during the six-month enrollment period measured.

While some consumers may have been previously insured, a majority of marketplace users who requested subsidies self-reported that they did not have insurance when they applied. Further evidence is in the numbers: a Gallup poll reports that the uninsured rate by the end of the first quarter is down to 13.4 percent, the lowest level since the recession began in 2008 and down from 17.3 percent in January.

Health care executives presented preliminary payment information to the House Energy and Commerce oversight subcommittee last week that shows between 80 and 90 percent of new premiums are paid, well above the 67 percent reported by members of the same committee the week prior.

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With Deadline Looming, ACA Enrollments Fall Short

One week from today marks the Affordable Care Act deadline for individual consumers to have an ACA-compliant policy from their employer or the online health marketplaces. Consumers who have not enrolled in coverage by March 31 will face a penalty on their taxes and will be prevented from signing up for subsidized healthcare until next year.

However, despite the time crunch only a quarter of Americans at this point had accessed the exchanges by January and many thousands of others are still uninformed about their responsibility to obtain coverage. Unfortunately, the majority of uninformed consumers are those who would benefit the most from tax credits and subsidies.

Misinformation is a major source of public reluctance to use the online health exchanges. The political debate over the Affordable Care Act is well-documented, and additional state laws governing the implementation of the individual mandate have further complicated the process.

The Obama administration is elbow-deep in a campaign to inform consumers and encourage them to apply for insurance. Volunteers are contacting households via phone banks, email, and door-to-door canvassing with pamphlets and applications. Canvassers hope that by educating consumers they will be able to dispel some of the myths surrounding the cost of health care plans and demonstrate the importance of having a compliant policy by next week’s deadline.

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