U.S. Obamacare 2018 exchange enrollment drops 3 percent: CMS

[progree]

Last edited Wed Apr 4, 2018, 08:34 AM - Edit history (1)

Source: Reuters

About 11.8 million consumers nationwide enrolled in 2018 Obamacare exchange plans, a 3 percent drop from last year when 12.2 million consumers signed up, according to a final government tally released on Tuesday by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The tally includes both sign-ups on the exchange run by the federal government for 39 states, which was released on a provisional basis late in 2017, and on the 12 other exchanges run by Washington, D.C. and the remaining states.

CMS said the average premium before tax credits in 2018 is $621 a month, an increase of more than 30 percent from last year.

However, those receiving tax credits - around 83 percent of consumers on Obamacare - will pay around $89 a month on average in premiums, the agency said. That is down 16 percent from $106 a month last year.



Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-obamacare-2018-exchange-enrollment-drops-3-percent-020409908--sector.html

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The rest of the article is 3 reasons for this fall in enrollment: Trump, Trump, and Trump. (Who woulda guessed?)

(or Putin, Putin, Putin or any of a number of a long list of fuckheads who caused us to lose by a combined total of just 78,000 votes in 3 states)

* Getting rid of the $billions in federal cost-sharing subsidies, causing insurance companies to raise premiums yet more (the insurance companies have to provide those cost-sharing subsidies by law, regardless of whether they receive any money from the federal government for that purpose or not),

* Halving the length of the open enrollment period

* Cutting the federal advertising and outreach budget 90%

[progree]

1. Actually, I'm relieved it's only a 3% drop

considering all that. And a lot of people think they got rid of the mandate and penalty -- they did for 2019 and after, but the mandate and penalty is still law for 2018. I'm afraid though that the numbers will drop, particularly if Caligula succeeds in getting junk replacement insurance plans going.

[BumRushDaShow]

2. The hope is that some of this drop

is also from people able to get insurance through an employer via a new job too...

[progree]

4. I hope so, but we've had 2-3 million/yr job growth for 7 years now

and ACA exchange enrollment has been increasing substantially every year since 2014 (when the exchanges began), until this year.

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Plus you also have people becoming eligibile for Medicare

a number of whom had to go on the ACA as a bridge due to their age at the time and either out of work or on disability or in low-wage jobs without insurance (I have seen numerous posts here on DU from people with these circumstances).



http://www.investorsinsight.com/blogs/forecasts_trends/archive/2006/08/15/will-the-baby-boomers-wreck-the-market.aspx

The 1953 babies will be 65 this year and each year for the next several, we will be hitting the peak in the number of boomers hitting 65.

[progree]

6. The overalll uninsurance rate is rising, and it's not a pretty picture

Millions more Americans were uninsured in 2017, CNN Money, 1/16/18

Millions more Americans were uninsured at the end of 2017, the first increase since the Affordable Care Act went into effect.

The uninsured rate rose 1.3 percentage points to 12.2% last year, according to the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index. That represents an increase of roughly 3.2 million Americans.

Under Obamacare, the uninsured rate plummeted to a low of 10.9% at the end of 2016. Obamacare's exchanges opened in 2014, the same year Medicaid expansion began and the individual mandate -- which required nearly all Americans to have insurance or pay a penalty -- took effect.

... The uninsured rate rose for all demographics last year, except for senior citizens, who all qualify for Medicare. Young adults age 18 to 25 and Americans earning less than $36,000 each saw a 2 percentage point increase. The rate for blacks soared 2.3 percentage points, while Hispanics saw a 2.2 percentage point jump.

More: http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/16/news/economy/uninsured-americans/index.html

And that's a survey done in Oct 1 - Dec 31. Who knows what the situation is in 2018.

The Gallup Poll -

http://news.gallup.com/poll/225383/uninsured-rate-steady-fourth-quarter-2017.aspx?g_source=Well-Being&g_medium=newsfeed&g_campaign=tiles

[progree]

7. Thanks for the very interesting graph -- I didn't realize we still had quite a few years

to the peak. (Well the peak is 4 years from now, but the following 4 years are also at very near the peak level).

I'm one of those who was fortunate enough to turn 65 a year ago, and leave the ACA for Medicare.

[BumRushDaShow]

8. I am a tail-end boomer

and still have 9 years to go. But as a retired fed, I have FEHB to carry me over until that point and then I'll probably keep that (assuming Drumpf doesn't f*ck with it) to supplement Medicare.

[duforsure]

3. Premiums skyrocketing under trump

Some reports saying the premiums will increase by at least 90% within 2-3 years for the ACA , and because of trump and the GOP. Just like Rubio did in 2015 adding a provision to the omnibus bill causing their premiums to skyrocket in Sept. right before the last election. Remember he claimed if elected he'd make them go down, and give us a better health care plan, then did the opposite, while lying and claiming the Democrats were once again at fault. Even his followers will understand they're getting hurt the worst with everything he'd done, and is doing. After starting a trade war, trying to start a real war, and the tax scam which will hit the taxpayers soon, they'll realize they've been had. He lies ALL the time about everything, and the media should call him a liar instead of trying to sugar coat what it is he's doing to the truth. Their tax scam has cut probably closer to 20 million off the plan, then ad the effects of their changes and the economy starting to tank it'll quickly rise to 30-40 million not being able to economically have the money to pay for it. Of course he'll claim its because of the Democrats, once again after they pass stuff to destroy it, much like they are starting to do to Medicaid, Medicare,and Social Security. Trump has done everything he could to undermine the ACA all along. And he's gunning for more to hurt us now.