The first ObamaCare enrollment numbers have been released by insurers, and it’s less than 10 percent of the HHS goal. Fewer than 50,000 Americans have thus far bought their health care plan on the problem-plagued exchanges.
The number was a fraction of the months goal, and reported first Monday by The Wall Street and is also confirmed by Fox News, which was told the final reporting day was November 3.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued a prompt response, saying officials could not confirm the numbers.
“We have always anticipated that initial enrollment numbers would be low and increase over time,” said agency spokeswoman Joanne Peters. “And, as we have said, the problems with the website will cause the numbers to be lower than initially anticipated.”
Kathleen Sebelius also told lawmakers at a Senate hearing that the administration now expected “very low” ObamaCare enrollment numbers. But a report by Gallup suggests that the problem plagued site is the least of the administration’s problems, because uninsured Americans are simply ignoring or say they will pay the fine rather than comply with the law.
Healthcare.gov went live Oct. 1 and was immediately plagued with such problems as slow response time, failed integration software, privacy risks, volume-induced crashes and supplying incorrect information. One report by the Heritage Foundation cited the experiences of users who received the wrong person’s information from the site HealthCare.gov.
Administration officials have since called in private technical experts, because Michelle Obama’s crony relationships chose a failed Canadian-based company despite Canadian warnings. They have taken the site off line in non-peak hours to perform maintenance and improve the situation.
The federal site handles insurance enrollment for 36 states, who either refused or neglected to setup their own sites, precisely because of these many predictable problems.
The administration has set a goal of signing up 7 million Americans for insurance by next March, when open enrollment ends, but that goal is far from reachable right now.
The Wall Street Journal reported the number of enrollees thus far could actually be as low as 40,000. The information citing the the administration’s goal of 500,000 enrollees in October is based on an internal memo cited last week by Michigan Republican Rep. Dave Camp.
The administration is hoping that cancelled policies will increase interest in the law, and when the site is up and running, the ObamaCare enrollment numbers — including those of paying Americans — will increase.
According to a study conducted by People’s Pundit Daily, the number of cancellation notices that are set to go out, will be in the range of 140 million once the law has taken full effect.
