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WHIO.com
Obama health
law enrollment shrinks
By Jamie Dupree
Washington Insider
After trumpeting "over eight million" enrollments just a few months ago
in the exchanges for the Obama health law, a top Obama Administration
official told Congress on Thursday that the latest report on the number
of Americans signed up has shrunk by as much as 10 percent.
"As of August 15 of this year, we have 7.3 million Americans enrolled
in the health insurance marketplace coverage," said Marilyn Tavenner,
who heads up administration of the Obama health law.
At a hearing of the House Oversight Committee, Tavenner argued that
smaller figure was not a disappointment.
"I think 7.3 (million) is a really strong number," Tavenner said,
defending the Obama health law.
But the numbers are clear - 7.3 million is definitely smaller than the
numbers given out by the Obama Administration after the end of the 2014
open enrollment session, which said "over eight million Americans have
selected a private health insurance plan through the Marketplace."
That would mean the exchange rolls have shrunk by at least 700,000 in
recent months, if not more.
"How much of that 700,000-plus drop were people who did not pay, or do
you know?" asked Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA).
"I do not know that information," Tavenner said. "I don't think we'll
know that until the end of the year."
Those numbers could decline even more, because 115,000 people might be
booted off the rolls at the end of September due to questions about
whether they were citizens or legal residents in the U.S.
Tavenner later told lawmakers that she thinks the payment rate for
those who signed up in the health exchanges would be about 90 percent.
Tavenner's press officials meanwhile downplayed the decline, telling
reporters it's normal.
"The Marketplace is a dynamic place – people come in and out – even
during the course of a year."
In a phone call, a spokesman from the Department of Health and Human
Services disputed the headline of this story, arguing that one cannot
compare the over 8 million enrollments and the August 15 snapshot of
7.3 million in the exchanges, saying it is not an apples to apples
comparison.
For the rest of this article and more, go to WHIO.com
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