Internal notes show paltry initial enrollment in Obamacare
Washington (CNN) - Six people.
That's how many Americans had successfully enrolled in the federal health care exchange by the morning of October 2, according to documents provided to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
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Notes from a "war room" meeting at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance between administration officials and contractors working on the rollout of HealthCare.gov underscore the beleaguered debut of the online marketplace.
Posted online Thursday by the House committee, the documents indicate that the six enrolled individuals were issued policies from five different insurance companies.
"Healthcare Service Corporation had the two enrollments," the notes recorded.
By the next meeting, held that afternoon, notes showed "approximately 100 enrollments" had taken place since the launch of the federal exchange.
The following morning, the total had increased to 248.
Notes released by the committee's chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-California, do not include official enrollment statistics and represent an incomplete accounting of the enrollment totals, said Joanne Peters, a Health and Human Services spokeswoman.
Again, the department declined to release the number of Americans who have been able to successfully enroll in the exchange.
"We will release enrollment statistics on a monthly basis after coordinating information from different sources such as paper, online, and call centers, verifying with insurers and collecting data from states," Peters said.
Peters reiterated that a slow start does not mean that the exchange will not boast a healthy roll call by the deadline to enroll.
"We have always anticipated that the pace of enrollment will increase throughout the enrollment period," Peters said.
Citing the quiet pace at which Massachusetts residents registered for that state's health program, the spokeswoman remained confident that enrollment totals would tick up as more people learned about the exchange.
HHS remains focused on providing accurate enrollment totals and cannot yet give those figures because of collection issues.
"We have had more than 20 million visitors to the Marketplace, showing an overwhelming interest in Americans learning more about their options for affordable health care," Peters said.
The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance is part of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Beagle: Obamacare is not healthcare! It is health insurance. If doctors would require everyone to pay by cash, Obamacare would be useless and be unrelated to healthcare at all.
Can you say single-payer system.....hidden agenda!!
The Democrats pass this 100% ion their own. When Obama sat down with the House Republicans to discuss the ACA, they made suggestions and he famously declined them by saying "We won".
Then in 2010 Senator Mike Enzi after reading the bill and the HSA regulations changes in 2010 good the Senate that Obama's promise that you can keep your Coverage if you like it was a lie. He introduced a bill to insure that all plans were grandfathered if they person wanted it. It was defeated by the Dems in the Senate.
These same Dems like Landreau are now introducing a Bill to do the same things stating they had no idea this would happen.
They are liars plan and simple….
ObamaCare has ruined my personal budget for my health care and NOBODY cares!!! Least wise BC/BS NOR the White HOuse!!!
Perhaps Republicans can offer up something significant to assist lowering the real cost of healthcare? I'm waiting...
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They can't, remember the shut down. Our President, Barack Hussein Obama II will not negotiate on the ACA. His words, not mine, and last time I checked the President has veto power, even if the "Honorable" Harry Reid allowed it in the Senate.
This is the bed Barack Hussein Obama II has made for us, not him (remember he's exempt), to sleep in.
FYI, based on my new premium, following my cancellation notice, I won't be able to put gas in my car to get to work. I will probably lose my house because of this. The American dream right?
@ Homunculus "Obamacare is rapidly turning into one big joke." I agree but it's a multi-Billion dollar joke!
20 million visitors does not mean they are all interested. Some are just seeing if it breaks because the cost of the site boggles the mind. I wonder how many wanted insurance and are now put off by the site. It could be 15 million, "this sucks!" So, don't get all gooey over the number. It probably isn't a positive spin item.
People talk about what the GOP is offering for healthcare reform. What a joke. So turning the entire healthcare system upside down and claiming that this 1,200 page bill is the answer. It's so good that Congress won't subject themselves to it ? By the way you geniuses, the train went off the tracks with the Dems holding the 1. Presidency and 2. the Senate. There is no reform that could be presented by the GOP that the Dems would ever agree to. The most corrupt Administration in the history of our country. Punishing political enemies with the levers of power!!! Should frighten us all.
Blaming the GOP for the ObamaCare fiasco is not only totally untrue but an insult to Americans.
This whole thing is so sad. My premium went up $146 a month and now I am in a network as my old plan did not meet the new Obamacare standards.
I think this will really hurt people and also I was hoping for great Christmas sales to get more money into the economy. I did E-Bay for 10 years to supplement my businesses and I just closed it down. It is just too slow for folks like me who did not have great sales but the money sure helped. Now no E-bay income and I have a new $146 a month bill and I have no idea what my local doctor's clinic will take when this is all over.
I think that it is comical for the administration to say 20 million people visited the site and infer from that 20 million were ready to buy. A lot of them could just have been curiosity hits. From the enrollment numbers that pretty much is what it sounds like. Now considering that it is the law now and people being what they are, they most likely will wait until the last minute to sign and cause another crash.
Enrollment STILL does not equal applications submitted.
"Perhaps Republicans can offer up something significant to assist lowering the real cost of healthcare? I'm waiting..."
Maybe they can. But sitting still and doing nothing is 1000000% better than spending $2 Trillion over the next 10 years like this.
6 for 314 million on the very first day! How wonderful. You are truly special Federal Government of the United States of America! Bravo!
Who will accept this grandioso participation trophy?
Belgium is on the verge of passing a law that allows children to choose euthanasia (suicide, basically). Obamacare isn't there yet, but just wait until the budget fights get ugly. The people who want government regulating healthcare are the ones who will sit on "euthanasia panels" soon enough.
I couldn't care less what the number is. Let's just see if the program works or not when it's implemented.
All I can say is that now that the plans are available, buying personal insurance in New York is going to cost me several thousand dollars less per year, than virtually any decent option that existed before. In truth the concept was always simple. Expand the pool and everyone's cost goes down. Now I know lots of people didn't want to buy insurance, but like car insurance, forcing everyone to buy keeps taxpayers from footing the bill fir emergent surgeries, traumas, deliveries, overdoses and any other incident that hospitals are required to treat you for without insurance. The hospital would try and collect from the patient but usually gets subsidized by the government depending on the average cost to them by uninsured PTs each year.
As a democrat I don't believe these numbers.
You Progressives Pushed too hard on Americans, and now your agenda is busted
Liberals need not worry, they will blame the fiasco called Obamacare on everyone but themselves. Liberals know the root of all evil are the Republican boogeyman, especially George W. Bush. The blame according to the Democrats fall squarely on Bush even though Bush was out of office for two years before the Democrats crafted this mess.
There was also the often repeated statement of why the Republicans did not come up with there own plan. They did, however, the Three Stooges (Pelosi-Moe, Reid-Larry, Barack-Curly Joe) ignored the GOP inputs. The Three Stooges did not need any inputs because according to themselves and the liberal press, they are ALL KNOWING. Obamacare shot that argument full of holes.
if apple had 6 sales for the new iPhone they be selling off the furniture now...
If nobody signs up it will send a message to Washington that we want the same plan that they have.
This quote is a typical propaganda spin trying to make sometime inherently bad look better. 20 million visitors were trying to find out if they really are going to get it broken off and how much it would cost. Their real Intentions are not to buy into one of the biggest government fiascoes of all times but to find alternatives.
"We have had more than 20 million visitors to the Marketplace, showing an overwhelming interest in Americans learning more about their options for affordable health care," Peters said.
The fact of the matter is partisanship is killing this country. On one side you have the reps who are bashing and opposing Obamacare while not offering any solutions. And on the other side you have the Dems who are in denial (or just lying) about how abysmal Obamacare really is. I know far too many people who are now paying a lot more for healthcare, for things they don't want or need such as maternity care at 60 yo.....please. Both parties are a failure
I wonder if any of these six people liked their plans and wanted to keep them?