Officials Keeping Mum on Obamacare Exchange Sign-Up Numbers
It's doubtful anybody can conceivably dispute that the rollout of the Affordable Care Act exchanges have been anything but a total disaster. It's such a disaster that we don't even know how much of a disaster it is, yet. States are keeping quiet about the number of sign-ups so far. Or possibly they don't even know. From the Associated Press:
After more than a week in action, is a key feature of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul a success or a bust? Judging by the dearth of data, it's virtually impossible to say.
The federal government has released no comprehensive data on how many people have enrolled for health insurance using federally run exchanges, the online marketplaces being used in 36 states for residents to compare and buy insurance. In the 14 states running their own exchanges, the situation isn't much better.
Officials with California's exchange say it will be mid-November until they can say how many people signed up. In Oregon and Colorado, the official number of completed applications is zero. And in Minnesota, which billed itself as a leader in implementing the Affordable Care Act, officials won't release data until next week about the number of applications started and completed.
In other states, Oregon hasn't even actually allowed residents to enroll yet because it can't determine eligibility for Medicaid and tax credits. Vermont, despite getting $171 million in grants for its exchange, is issuing applications on paper.
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