Donald Trump’s win for the presidency has caused more than 100,000 people to sign up for Obamacare. Republicans have stated they want to appeal the law if they win the White House.
It is the largest number of enrollees since the open enrollment started on November 1:
The new enrollment figure, released by HHS this afternoon, represents the number of people who submitted an application and chose a health insurance plan on the exchanges.
“Best day yet this Open Enrollment. Nov 9: Over 100K plan selections on http://HealthCare.gov . Consumers shopping & enrolling,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell tweeted.
Despite the GOP’s plans, the White House said it will continue with enrollment for 2016:
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday that officials will still urge people to sign up for coverage through ObamaCare.
“There is no specific thing in mind that we’re going to do differently now,” Earnest said as he addressed reporters for the first time since President-elect Trump declared victory.
However, Earnest also told people not to worry about Obamacare post election and hopes people will continue to signup:
“These are benefits that are available to them today, and we’d certainly encourage people to sign up,” he said. “The president elect is going to make his own decisions and worries about those future decisions shouldn’t have any impact on anybody capitalizing on the opportunities that are available to them today on healthcare.gov.”
But some consumers have told media outlets that Trump’s win has frightened them:
That’s what drove Rita Gibbs, a real estate agent in Tucson, to sign up on Healthcare.gov on Wednesday.
“I’m horrified about the election results and extremely worried what will happen to my health care,” Gibbs, 54, said in an email. “Everyone I know who gets insurance via the Marketplace is freaked out.”
Monday, she told USA TODAY that “Obamacare is a middle-class nightmare.” She earns about $40,000 a year and had to return nearly all of her subsidy for 2015 because she made more money than expected. After the ACA was passed, her premiums went up but the coverage was far better than her pre-ACA plan, which only covered catastrophic care.
But the GOP does not have 60 seats in the Senate to completely overthrow the law. Instead, the senators can use the “process called budget reconciliation, which requires a simple majority to pass. That process could be used to eliminate parts of the law that affect federal spending, including its marketplaces, Medicaid expansion and mandates to buy coverage.”
Trump does have a point…the law has been a catastrophe. President Barack Obama promised we could keep our doctors and our original health insurance plan. Yeah, that’s not happening. My ENT had to drop Aetna because of Obamacare.
Kemberlee is also a victim of Obamacare, causing her health insurance premium to spike 53%.
Cigna announced that it will scale back its Obamacare offerings due to low enrollment. Aetna also dropped many of its Obamacare plans since it lost $430 million. UnitedHealthcare pulled back its Obamacare plans.
Since this has happened, the Obama administration actually said they would “assign affected consumers with remaining insurance companies.” As my coworker Leslie noted:
So, what is the alternative for a customer who rejects the “recommended plan”? Perhaps finding more unaffordable insurance or paying the Obamacare penalty. In fact, nearly 8.1 million taxpayers paid $1,694,088,000 in penalties for not having health insurance in 2014, the first year the penalty was in effect, according to the the Internal Revenue Service.
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Comments
ObamaCare is absolutely terrible coverage, unless of course you have a pre-existing expensive condition like HIV, Cancer, Heart Disease, and you can pay the premium and high deductable and still come out ahead. For any one else, it just means you pay a sky high premium with a high deductable for the privilege of being “covered.”
It is ok if you are destitute, since you don’t even bother to sign up until you are sick and then jump in next enrollment period. For middle class workers self employed, it is a complete disaster.
Better to go without insurance, pay the penalty, and just plan on flying to Mexico or Thailand if you need major medical care.
Yeah, and the pre-existing condition stuff could’ve been at the state level without some large complex national mandate thrust upon everyone.
CT used to have such a plan, that my mom was on after she survived cancer in 2010. She was forced onto ACA when it rolled out, and saw less coverage and higher premiums/deductibles (and lost her doctor).
And the media tried to downplay the millions (was it 5 or so?) who lost their insurance on the individual market. Now they trumpet the horror stories but ignored so many.
Yes, I got my notice that my monthly costs are going up 600 per month and deductibles are up by another 2500, if I have a major medical, I will be 30 K in the hole before the 80% kicks in.
I will be paying almost 24 K annually in insurance premiums for the “Bronze” plan. That is 24 K that could be working for the economy instead of paying for some illegals hospital visit for a cold. Gee I would love to upgrade my 2004 auto.
Remember, though…
Der Donald is NOT going to have people dying in the streets…!!!
And your point is?….duh
Problem is bigger than Trump. I don’t expect President Trump to fix it. I expect Ryan to fix it, which since he is an insider, he will not. There are only two answers to solving this, increase in wages or overhaul the medical care system.
BTW Trump won the election and Cruz lost the primaries.
Rag: “Der Donald is – ”
Dude, stop bleeding in public. It’s pathetic.
I think the primary reason for this spike in enrollment has little to do with the election or Trump. It’s because this year is when penalties for *not* enrolling jump up significantly.
I’m in the individual market(no subsidy) and my premium increased 82% to $1,167/mo with a $6,500 max out of pocket. I’ve paid under $500 so far this year for medical costs this year. Granted, I do get the benefit of getting the insurance discount over the “retail price” of the service and one “free” annual exam.
I would prefer getting a catastrophic plan and put any extra money into a HSA or a savings account.
I have a year before Medicare but I might just go and have any operations or doctor visits that may be good for me such as cataract surgery (my eye doc said it would be within 5 years since he doesn’t want me to wait until I can’t see) or knee replacement (the gel shots have worked wonders, but again, the doctors are saying not to wait until your knees are too far gone).
The good day for the enrollment may be more of a factor of someone getting a notice on their individual plan, realizing the rates are going up too much and had to convert to the marketplace in order to continue coverage.
If I remember correctly, most people waited until near the end of the open enrollment period to sign up.
The propaganda continues. And Rags, those Clinton people in the streets are there at their own risk. Put down the sign and come on in for a beer.
Two points:
1) “Republicans have stated they want to appeal the law if they win the White House.”
Repeal.
We already did “appeal” the law. We lost that fight.
2) “But the GOP does not have 60 seats in the Senate to completely overthrow the law.”
The whole of the law was passed by reconciliation.
The whole of the law can be repealed the same way.
Can’t have it both ways. Any provisions of the law that can’t be legally repealed by reconciliation were never actually passed legally in the first place.
Notice to liberals…. butt hurt is not a pre-existing condition.
Mary Chastain:
That’s repeal, not appeal, the law. The time for appeal passed when the Supreme Court said it was constitutional 🙂
“Republicans have stated they want to appeal the law…”
“Appeal”? You mean “Repeal”?
Funny Anchovy
Government has to get out of healthcare. Donald used the word “repeal,” so I hope he means it but there are those out there who want their cake and eat it too. Its ok to them if those making more money pay more (and get no health care coverage in return) but we have to let everyone in without premium penalty without regard to age and regardless of medical conditions.
Insurance doesn’t work that way, so returning to the old actuarial practices has to happen with fewer coverage rules. Men don’t need to pay childbirth and neither do 60-year-old women. Throw out all the birth control and abortion requirements; encourage insurance coverage using HSAs with high deductible supplements; keep group coverage large to prevent massive fluctuations due to catastrophic medical claims and seek unity in State Insurance regulations. Most importantly, eliminate the possibility of ever returning to a mandatory insurance tax.
As former Governor Lee Dreyfus of Wisconsin famously said: The federal government’s role should be limited to only three things: “defending our shores, delivering our mail and staying the hell out of our lives.”