That’s pretty much the story.
It’s constitutional – deal with it
Texas enrollment in the online insurance marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act rose steadily in February but did not meet expectations set forth by the Obama administration, according to figures that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released Tuesday.
“As more Americans learn just how affordable marketplace insurance can be, more are signing up to get covered,” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a call announcing the enrollment data. “We expect that even more will sign up as we approach the March 31 deadline.”
The data is the last to be released by HHS before open enrollment closes on March 31, offering a glimpse at the daunting task facing advocacy groups as they make their final push to sign people up for health coverage.
Texas ranked third behind California and Florida in total enrollments since the launch of healthcare.gov on Oct. 1. As of March 1, 295,000 Texans had selected a coverage plan in the federal marketplace, up from 207,500 the month before.
The number represents a small fraction of the uninsured in Texas, the state with the highest percentage of people without health coverage nationwide. In 2012, more than 6 million Texans, about 24 percent of the population, lacked health insurance, according to U.S. census data.
“That is very low,” said Arlene Wohlgemuth, director of the Center for Health Care Policy at the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation. “If the goal is to get uninsured people onto the exchange, they are such a long way from doing that.”
Wohlgemuth, of course, was the author of the bill in the 2003 Lege that initiated that disastrous privatization of HHSC, and her fingerprints were all over the bill that cut however many hundreds of thousands of kids off CHIP that same year. In other words, she’s a charter member of the Go Ahead And Die caucus, and as such has Cheney-levels of credibility on anything related to health care.
Be that as it may, the numbers are what they are. We’d like them to be higher, but there’s still time, and millions of people are getting covered regardless of what else happens. The good news is that there will be another open enrollment period in October for next year, and there shouldn’t be any technical problems like there were this time. It may take longer than it should have, but we’ll get there. A statement from the Texas Organizing Project is beneath the fold.
In response to the almost 300,000 Texans who have signed up in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace this enrollment period, Texas Organizing Project Executive Director Ginny Goldman issued the following statement.
“Today’s numbers are the latest evidence that more and more Texans are taking advantage of the opportunity to get affordable health coverage through the Marketplace and proof that the education and outreach work of TOP and other organizations is getting results. The numbers are even more impressive when considering the distraction and resource drain on enrollment assisters from navigator regulations handed down by the Texas Department of Insurance under the charge of Attorney General Greg Abbott and Governor Rick Perry. TOP talks to hard working Texans everyday that, when given accurate information, are able to make the best decision for their family to get coverage and start making appointments to see their doctors. March 31 is only a few weeks away, and TOP will continue to inform people about the benefits of the Marketplace so folks can get the health care they deserve.”