12/11/2013

Biased media coverage on Obamacare signups, covering up how few people are actually signed up

The media keeps uncritically reporting the information provided to it by the Obama administration.  CNN has this figure.  364,682 people "signed up" is not a lot, but the numbers are even worse than that.

The problem is that the number of people who have actually paid their initial premium is just a small fraction of that.  They should have also included a fourth circle with 18,000 to 55,000 who have completely signed up for coverage.  From Healthy buzz:
That’s slow going, according to consultants and some insurers, raising the prospect that actual enrollment will be far lower than the figures HHS is releasing. 
“There is also a lot of worrying going on over people making payments,” industry consultant Robert Laszewski wrote in an email. “One client reports only 15% have paid so far. It is still too early to know for sure what this means but we should expect some enrollment slippage come the payment due date.” 
Another consultant Kip Piper, agreed. “So far I’m hearing from health plans that around 5% and 10% of consumers who have made it through the data transfer gauntlet have paid first month’s premium and therefore truly enrolled,” he wrote me. . . . 
Blue Shield of California said it has sent out thousands of payment request letters. “Members do not know they need to make their first month’s payment until they get this letter. Payments are trickling in and while we expect an uptick over the next week, members have until January 6 to make this payment,” spokeswoman Mia Campitelli wrote in an email. . . .
Unfortunately, it looks like all the mainstream media coverage is leaving this information out.

UPDATE: Sebelius' testimony from today.  Now do you believe that they didn't track this information?  If not, why not?


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1 Comments:

Blogger Steve Bratten said...

The graphic needs another bubble for the number of people who have had their existing coverage canceled. Just a suggestion. I heard it was about 4.5 million.

12/12/2013 1:12 PM  

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