Insight, analysis & opinion from Joe Paduda

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Oct
4

Status report: Obamacare implementation

Here’s where things are.

Briefly, my best guess is less than a hundred thousand folks have enrolled in insurance via the Exchanges so far.  That’s based on reports I’ve seen from several sources identified below.

And, there are a lot of health plans participating, with 2/3 of states offering 4 or more health plans, each with multiple benefit plans.

Not surprising, as Massachusetts’ experience with their “exchange’ indicates people accessed their system about 18 times before actually enrolling.

Those shopping for coverage are finding lots of options, as 2/3 of the states have four or more health plans selling thru the Exchanges, while eleven of the most populous states have ten or more plans participating.

Carrier Participation Map - Final

Of course, PPACA implementation started back in 2010, with the elimination of lifetime caps on medical expenses, extension of coverage to dependents up to age 26, increased reimbursement for primary care under Medicare and other interim actions.

What does this mean for you?

Not surprisingly, there’s far more shopping than buying, and a raft of technical and capacity problems on the Exchange servers.  As the tech issues get fixed, we’ll see more traffic and more enrollees, especially in late November.

Until then this will quickly become yesterday’s news.


Joe Paduda is the principal of Health Strategy Associates

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