HHS Projects 10 Million People Will Have ACA Coverage By End Of 2016
The Health and Hospitals Administration has projected that about 10 million people would be enrolled in ACA coverage by the end of 2016, a number experts described as “surprisingly low.” This announcement is seen by a large contingent of people as an acknowledgment of the challenges the Administration will face in the 2016 open enrollment period.
The New York Times said that in a “surprisingly pessimistic forecast,” the Obama Administration projected that only one million additional Americans would have coverage through the ACA’s exchanges by the end of 2016. After an “elaborate analysis of demographic data,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell “said that 10 million people were expected to have marketplace coverage at the end of next year.” Burwell called it a “strong and realistic goal,” adding, “We still have work to do to bring access to affordable, quality health insurance to all Americans.”
The Wall Street Journal has reported that that 9.9 million people had enrolled and paid their premiums as of June and 9.1 million are expected to still have coverage by the end of this year. The new projection comes just weeks before the ACA’s third open enrollment period starts on Nov. 1. of this year.
The Washington Post stated that the Administration’s “meager” projection stands in contrast to “other government estimates that suggested the coming year would usher in the program’s biggest enrollment surge.” Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times stated that the Congressional Budget Office had estimated 21 million people would have coverage through the ACA in 2016.
Pointing to the discrepancy between the new target and the CBO’s estimate, the AP suggested that the health law’s “historic gains in coverage may be leveling off.” Meanwhile, Republicans said “lower expectations from the administration are evidence that ‘Obamacare’ coverage is too expensive.”
This might all change come November 2016, as if the Rebublicans have their way, the ACA will not exist and they will use these projections as part of their bone of contention.