WAPO: Here’s Why It Doesn’t Matter If 7 Million Signed Up For ObamaCare:
Of course, we still need to learn how many paid their premiums to complete enrollment. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Monday said it’s anywhere between 80 and 90 percent, so official enrollment (and not just signups) could be anywhere between 5.7 million to 6.4 million. Those numbers would still likely rise over the next few months for those who can sign up later because of hardships or changes in life circumstances.
Other things we don’t know yet: How many of the previously uninsured signed up for private plans or Medicaid? How many people skipped the exchanges and signed up directly with insurers? How well did insurers predict their mix of enrollees in 2014? Will people actually like the coverage they now have?
How many people who signed up did so because they lost better insurance because of ObamaCare mandates?
UPDATE: Shikha Dalmia: Don’t Pop The Cork For ObamaCare: Untangle the administration’s enrollment numbers to see how overstated they are. “So, to recap: ‘Obamacare’ has extended coverage to a far smaller portion of the uninsured than expected, caused millions of others to lose coverage, raised out-of-pocket costs for many middle-income consumers, diminished patient choice of doctors and hospitals and exposed Americans to future premium hikes. This is why Americans are not popping the cork. Nor should the administration.”