Despite Looming Uncertainty, Health Law Enrollment Numbers Stay Steady
Meanwhile, Covered California's Peter Lee urges residents to keep enrolling. “We’re open for business, the law is on the books, and people who have subsidies will have them through 2017," he says.
Los Angeles Times:
More Than 300,000 Signed Up For Obamacare After Trump Was Elected
Signups for health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act continued to surge this month amid anxiety about the future of the law under President-elect Donald Trump, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The flood of people signing up since enrollment began Nov. 1 surpassed 1 million on Saturday, outpacing enrollment from last year, new data show. (Levey, 11/16)
The Associated Press:
Early Sign-Ups For Health Care Law Are Steady, But No Surge
A little more than 1 million people renewed health coverage or signed up for the first time through HealthCare.gov around the start of open enrollment, which coincided with a GOP election sweep likely to scramble President Barack Obama's signature law. The figures released Wednesday by the Obama administration represent steady sign-ups but no enrollment surge so far. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/16)
San Diego Union-Times:
Covered California Director Urges Enrollees To Ignore Trump-Caused Uncertainty
Covered California, the state’s health insurance exchange, is at a crossroads brought about by President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to repeal at least parts of the Affordable Care Act. Obamacare pays income-based subsidies to 87% of the 1.3 million Californians currently covered by plans sold through the exchange. Elimination of those payments could very well lead to mass cancellations by people no longer able to afford their insurance policies. (Sisson, 11/16)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Qualify For The State Health Exchange? It's Time To Enroll
If you do or can get your health insurance through Covered California — and about 19,000 of you in Kern County currently do — don’t worry about last week’s election. Just enroll. That’s the message from Peter Lee, executive director of the state health insurance exchange, which is in the middle of open enrollment. Yes, President-elect Donald Trump wants to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which resulted in the Covered California exchange. But change never happens in Washington, D.C., overnight — including any overhaul of Obamacare, Lee said. (Bedell, 11/16)