Here you go…hot off the presses…um, Twitter-feed, anyway…
@charles_gaba MT @igorvolsky: BREAKING: Obama says on a call that 6 million people have enrolled in Obamacare.
— Seth Trueger (@MDaware) March 27, 2014
Things are moving VERY quickly now…
For example, I just added this update from the WSJ, which claims 100K QHPs per day on Mon/Tue.
I just checked the front page of Healthcare.gov and it looks like it is getting slammed as I see the queueing warning. The queue system allows the system to “call-back” people at moments when there is slack in the enrollment process. The procrastinators are finally coming off the side-lines. And this is why there is a legitimate need for the extended period for people who are trying to sign-up but can’t this week.
If there are 100,000 successful enrollments on healthcare.gov per day on Monday and Tuesday, I am projecting at least that many Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I would not be surprised if there are 250,000 enrollment on Monday as that is the absolute last momemt to get a regular application in. There are limited extensions for the open enrollment period and then normal qualifying life event enrollments, but the hard deadline is almost here.
EriktheRed
So how’s it gonna be if the wingnuts’ court cases successfully undermine the law when so many are signed up through the exchanges?
J.D. Rhoades
One of the latest “OMG OBAMA IS LAAAAAWLESSS” shrieks from the wingnuts has to do with the President using executive orders to extend deadlines for the ACA. Wonder if they’d be screaming so loud if he was extending the deadlines for tax filings.
Bobby Thomson
I suspect the deadline pressure had much more to do with this than Between Two Ferns, but the timing of the latter was impeccable.
Cervantes
Richard, what are the best numbers re how many enrollees previously had no insurance at all?
Lolis
I tried to help my brother sign up March 15th but the website didn’t work. He is living in Mexico but want to get it. Hopefully he will finish the process on his own in Mexico and the glitch will be gone.
Lolis
I tried to help my brother sign up March 15th but the website didn’t work. He is living in Mexico but wants to get it. Hopefully he will finish the process on his own in Mexico and the glitch will be gone.
kindness
Over at NPR the comments say the new signups are evidence that the ACA is failing. They say that about everything though.
Jeremy
@EriktheRed: First of all those court cases are not going to end the ACA. The bill (CR) which re-opened the government back in October included language that stated that the HHS has authority to verify income for participants in the American Health Benefit Exchanges who qualify for tax credits/ subsidies from the federal government. This already backs up the regulation that was finalized by the IRS, the language is clear.
There is no way that the upper level courts will take a ridiculous lawsuit like that seriously. One judge has already ruled against them.
Jeremy
@EriktheRed: First of all those court cases are not going to end the ACA. The bill (CR) which re-opened the government back in October included language that stated that the HHS has authority to verify income for participants in the American Health Benefit Exchanges who qualify for tax credits/ subsidies from the federal government. This already backs up the regulation that was finalized by the IRS, the language is clear.
There is no way that the upper level courts will take a ridiculous lawsuit like that seriously. One judge has already ruled against them.
Richard Mayhew
@Cervantes: depends on the state but probably between 60% and 75%
Trollhattan
Alabama congressional hopeful does not like your Obamacare, not one bit. He’s in fact willing to expend precious ammo on killing off your Obamacare.
wonkette.com/545054/alabama-congressional-candidate-applies-second-amendment-solutions-to-obamacare
They do love them some gunz.
Russ
six million, so what! Republicans have a plan to…………..oh, they don’t?
Face
There wont be any Obamacare after the Supremes are through with it. They missed with the kill shot in 2012, but a death by a thousand cuts is still a death. I suspect the HL case will be but one of several that SCOTUS will use to completely kneecap the law.
Tractarian
@Richard Mayhew
Let’s see how many references I can embed in a single post!
PaulW
You know what this means, don’t you?
The GOP House will make another vote to repeal Obamacare.
Because you know it doesn’t work and it’s unAmerican and ugly and covered in warts and it makes that disgusting coughing sound that keeps you up at 3 AM and…
The Dangerman
That can’t be; FOX tells me at the top of every program that Obamacare is a total disaster. Followed by how corrupt the IRS is regarding the Tea Party. Occasionally, they flip the order.
bemused
It’s moving fast now similar to states legalizing same-sex marriage..the tide be turning. Rightwingers have got to blowing their tops.
EriktheRed
@Tractarian:
In this case, the more the better.
Cervantes
@Richard Mayhew: That’s good to hear. Are the numbers documented anywhere? I presume so.
proterozoic
Meanwhile, Drudge Report 60point type headline:
CONDI RICE BLASTS OBAMA WEAKNESS
Jeremy
@Face: Didn’t some of you say the same thing about the individual mandate ?
I’m sorry but I’m not part of the doom and gloom crowd that always thinks the sky is falling like some on the left. I rather wait and see.
Certified Mutant Enemy
@proterozoic:
In a sane world, nobody would listen to all those assholes, who essentially, broke the world.
Chyron HR
@Trollhattan:
What’s the problem? Guy sounds like a true progressive Firepup to me. Get him on the Rec List, stat.
Mnemosyne
@Lolis:
If your brother is trying to sign in from a computer in Mexico, it probably won’t work — foreign IP addresses are going to be blocked. He’s going to need to do it from inside the US. Being out of the country would probably be one of the exceptions that would allow him to sign up outside of the open enrollment period, though — when is he planning to be back?
SatanicPanic
@Face:
Dude, it’s not like they were practicing archery. All they had to do was call it unconstitutional and be done with it.
Trollhattan
@proterozoic:
A lost headline opportunity. Should read: CONDI RICE DETERMINED TO ATTACK OBAMA
Davis X. Machina
6.000,000 birthrights sold for a mess of neo-liberal pottage?
We’ll never get single-payer now.
This will make it impossible to kill the bill.
How are we supposed to have a revolution if we can’t rustle up any martyrs?
Villago Delenda Est
OT, but Atrios has utterly nailed the Christie “exoneration”:
Jeremy
@SatanicPanic: Exactly ! The argument that “they will kill it by a thousand cuts” doesn’t make any damn sense when they had to chance to kill it outright when it was before the Supreme Court in the first place.
RedKitten
I’m just so pleased for the people who finally have insurance. It’s just unfathomable and obscene that in a rich country like yours that people can go bankrupt from medical expenses.
Note: Yes, people can go bankrupt from that stuff in Canuckistan as well, due to prescription meds not being covered by our universal health care. But it happens a hell of a lot less often, so there’s that…
mdblanche
But do you know who else’s signature program succeeded in reaching the 6 million mark?
Lolis
@Mnemosyne:
Not for a few months. Maybe I need to finish signing him up on his account. Thanks for the info.
Chyron HR
@Villago Delenda Est:
Too wordy.
Villago Delenda Est
@SatanicPanic: That was the kill shot. Senile dipshit Kennedy isn’t even aware of that.
mdblanche
@kindness:
Um… okay? That’s some real “good news for John McCain” style logic they’ve got going there.
@Davis X. Machina:
Perhaps you could volunteer.
Steeplejack
@J.D. Rhoades:
Someone—Jon Stewart?—pointed out that Dubya extended the Medicare Part D enrollment deadline by something like six months and no congressional heads exploded. Weird, huh?
Yatsuno
@RedKitten: Excuse me a moment…
Ahem…
REDKITTEH!!!
Hi darlin’! And yeah great point about UHC, though most likely none of your bankruptcies are exclusively medical. I know BC health sucks on the med point as well.
SiubhanDuinne
@The Dangerman:
What about BENGHAAAAAAAZI though, huh?
SiubhanDuinne
@mdblanche:
Ouch.
SatanicPanic
@Villago Delenda Est: Good luck explaining. That dude thinks contraception and abortion are the same thing.
brendancalling
signed up saturday, did my taxes monday. after adjusting my income, my cost (w/credit) dropped from $244/month to $177/month.
Now I’m saving all my receipts for 2014 taxes
SiubhanDuinne
@RedKitten:
Like Yuts/Yats, I am thrilled to see you! Wanted to let you know that I’m hopeful of visiting the Atlantic Provinces in late spring/early summer, and would love the chance to meet you in person if it suits you. If you’d like, send me an email at SiubhanDuinne (at) gmail (dot) com.
Hope you and your young family are all thriving, and that the current weather stuff you’re getting is the last of it for this year.
Apologies to all for the O/T.
The Dangerman
@SiubhanDuinne:
On hold until Hillary runs; then, it’s BENGHAAAAAAAZI and blowjobs, all day, every day
WaterGirl
@Trollhattan:
Correction: CONDI RICE DETERMINED TO ATTACK OBAMA IN THE UNITED STATES
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl:
That’s funny.
Delighted to hear about the Obamacare signups. I will be one of them. Haven’t finalized yet — premium’s higher than I’d like, but oh well.
I think there are going to be even more footdraggers out there. Especially the “relatively healthy and don’t relish paying an insurance premium” types, but it’s got to be done …
IowaOldLady
Steve Benen said today that when Rs try to explain the ACA signup numbers, it will have something to do with Benghazi
schrodinger's cat
@Elizabelle: Our deadline in MA has been extended till the end of June, they are still processing applications!
SiubhanDuinne
@The Dangerman:
Not to mention those disgusting Hillary nutcrackers in every airport gift shop and mall kiosk.
shirt
At $425/m per policy holder, that’d be about $30.6 BILLION a year. Exactly how’s the GOP gonna take that bone away from the insurance moguls?
Elizabelle
@schrodinger’s cat:
Wow.
And Virginia’s legislature is still fighting over whether to pass a Medicaid expansion; no budget agreement until that get resolved.
Keep your spine, Democrats.
Tone in DC
LULz.
She has to finish shopping for shoes before she can attack anyone.
And, once again, nobody from Du(m)bya’s administration oughta be saying jack shit about US foreign policy. That’s like BP going on about a safe, clean workplace.
brendancalling
@Elizabelle: Find an accountant or tax lawyer. you may be eligible for some deductions you don’t know about (I sure was). My overall premium went down and my subsidy went up, and both by a lot: my original quote was $244/month including a $27/month credit. After adjusting? it went down to $177, with a $91/month credit.
A lot of non-profits offer help with taxes, so you might even be able to get it done free.
Ronnie Pudding
No heads exploded when Bush signed that law about light bulbs either. Funny, isn’t it.
Mike in NC
Yet every single moron looking to get elected as a Republican US senator or representative in November is counting on “Repeal ObummerCare!” to get them over the finish line. It’s all they’ve got.
Elizabelle
@brendancalling:
Good advice; thank you. I’d heard there was a chance for an appeal after the fact too.
currants
@schrodinger’s cat: Wow–I was really getting dunned about the deadline (and finally made it, with payment in time), but I’m a little surprised mostly since we’ve already had a program here. That said, the difference between the program I signed up for and the one I’ll have next month, well….
IowaOldLady
On ACA Signups, Gaba is predicting 6.5M by the end of March.
TriassicSands
Kevin Drum (Mother Jones) has a potentially relevant post up about “narrow networks” and the potential they pose for some very nasty financial surprises when something thought to be in network turns out not to be in but rather out.
Since a lot of plans through the PPACA seem to have narrow networks, it’s vital for people to understand — down to the minutest detail — what is and isn’t in network. Drum’s anecdote tells of a supposedly health care savvy man who ended up with an $800 bill for a routine CBC blood test. Although he asked the doctor if the lab was in network, and the doctor said “yes,” it turned out the doctor, as is frequently the case when billing questions are the topic, didn’t know what he was talking about.
The message is that people have to be extremely vigilant in making sure what is covered in network — probably a lot more vigilant than more than a handful of Americans either are or are even capable of being.
It’s important to avoid those kinds of pricing shocks, because people are likely to blame it on Obamacare.
Actually, I think it would be a great thing if all Americans became a lot more aware of what things cost and who’s paying in our health care system. Too many people who have always had good insurance may never have paid much, if any, attention to the details of their health care. If the policy pays for it, why should I care? The fact is everyone should care and everyone should do whatever they can to keep health care costs to a minimum (without sacrificing quality of care or forgoing necessary care).
Villago Delenda Est
@Ronnie Pudding: No heads on the right exploded when the deserting coward sent thousands of American servicemen and women to their deaths so that the Dark Lord’s cronies could go from a new Bentley every six months to every three months, either.
gogol's wife
@Villago Delenda Est:
Well put.
? Martin
If anyone was wondering why the deadline was pushed back for people that started their apps, its because the fed and some states sites won’t be able to keep up in the last few days.
Elizabelle
@TriassicSands:
I saw that post about the $800 blood test, and it scared me.
We are going to have to be such tough and informed consumers.
I’d say if the doctor’s office sent the blood out to a lab out of network, the doctor should be on the hook for that. They’d get less sloppy real fast.
Single payer down the road, bitchez!
? Martin
@Elizabelle:
Yeah, this is the long term end-point. It’s completely unreasonable to expect consumers to navigate the modern US healthcare system, and consumers will eventually conclude that it’s unreasonable to have to pay someone else to navigate it for us.
chopper
@mdblanche:
fedex called, your internets are out for delivery.
shelly
And I always have to smile, when some RW site or blog trumpets Obama’s poll numbers going down…I feel like telling them, ‘Hey guys, he doesn’t have to run for anything anymore”
Fair Economist
@TriassicSands:
Medical extortion for blood tests – yeah, it seems to have gone off the charts lately. I recently had a routine blood panel done and the lab wanted to bill me a THOUSAND dollars for it. Fortunately I have insurance, which limited the cost to – $106 (still probably a bit high). A TEN-FOLD overcharge for a routine outpatient procedure. Oh, and did I mention that even after I paid, they called and asked me to pay? I’m sure that attempt at getting double-paid works a couple percent of the time.
Insurance is basically a necessity just to protect yourself from extortion by the medical industry.
cckids
@TriassicSands:
Yes. Though we found out, to our irritation, that there were no plans here in NV that really work for us as a family. We’re here in Southern NV, and our son goes to college in Reno; there isn’t a network that covers both; so we figured he’s young & healthy & has access to the university’s health center; everything else he needs will just be out of network. If he needs something substantial, we’ll fly him back to Vegas for it, it will be cheaper.
RedKitten
@SiubhanDuinne: Check your email. :)