Republicans losing it over new Obamacare data: Why their position is collapsing as Obamacare enrollment could hit 7 million before the midterms; meanwhile, GOP still has no answer for beneficiaries. In the world of existing policy, the Affordable Care Act is experiencing an enrollment surge. Charles Gaba — a data Hoover — has been documenting the March surge, state by state on his Twitter account and his site, ACAsignups.net. Gaba has the best numbers out there, and has been accurately forecasting official enrollment statistics for weeks. He currently projects total exchange enrollment will hit 6.2 million by the end of the month, not counting enrollment in off-exchange plans, and puts the grand beneficiary total (including Medicaid beneficiaries and “young invincibles” on their parents’ plans) at 11.9-15.6 million as of Saturday. Conservatives are thus, to no one’s surprise, furiously attempting to “un-skew” his figures. And, as Vanderbilt health policy and med school professor John Gravesnotes, turnover is a major hallmark of the insurance market. People who lose or change jobs, and thus become temporarily uninsured, will be eligible for ACA enrollment, even after March 31. Medicaid, isn’t bound by open enrollment. As such, enrollment numbers will continue to grow throughout the election season. Exchange beneficiaries might even reach the elusive 7 million total this year, a few months late, but before the midterms. And GOP candidates still won’t have answers for them.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 21:51:58 +0000