Obamacare enrollment: California tops 400,000; Kentucy at 100,000-plus

[ProSense]

California Obamacare Enrollment Tops 400,000

More than 400,000 Californians have enrolled in health coverage under Obamacare as of Sunday, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The numbers are preliminary. State officials said enrollment had spiked with the approaching Monday deadline for signing up for coverage that starts in January: 27,000 people enrolled Sunday -- more than HealthCare.gov, which is serving 36 states, signed up in all of October.

The Obama administration has repeatedly pledged that enrollment would spike ahead of this week's deadline. President Obama said last week that more than 500,000 people enrolled through HealthCare.gov in the first three weeks of this month alone -- more than doubling the total enrollments that the federal website saw in October and November combined.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/california-obamacare-enrollment-400k

100,000-plus Kentuckians sign up for health insurance

FRANKFORT, KY. — More than 100,000 Kentuckians can mark another item off their shopping lists: medical coverage.

Kentucky’s state-operated online insurance marketplace has had a rush of people signing up for policies over the past month so that they would receive coverage beginning Jan. 1.

Gwenda Bond, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange, said officials had geared up for the anticipated surge.

<...>

As of Monday afternoon, 74,054 people had enrolled in Medicaid and 26,042 in private health insurance plans.

- more -

http://www.courier-journal.com/viewart/20131223/BUSINESS/312230053/100-000-plus-Kentuckians-sign-up-health-insurance

Total ACA Enrollments actually closer to 8 Million.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10024216660

[B2G]

1. Is this good news?

"As of Monday afternoon, 74,054 people had enrolled in Medicaid and 26,042 in private health insurance plans."

[ProSense]

2. Yes, but

"Is this good news?"

...does it seem like bad news to you? Is there a reason you're unsure that it's "good news"?

[B2G]

3. Because the increased costs of adding Medicaid recipients

Needs to be balanced against private enrollments for this to work financially.

75% to 25% seems a little skewed to me.

[ProSense]

5. Actually,

"Because the increased costs of adding Medicaid recipients

Needs to be balanced against private enrollments for this to work financially.

75% to 25% seems a little skewed to me. "

...no it doesn't. The bottom 26 percent of income earners are eligible for Medicaid under the expanded rules. That's nearly 17 million people, and millions more will qualify for subsidies. There is a new tax on high-income earners and the wealthy to help pay for the law.

Reported when the law passed in 2010:

A big chunk of the money to pay for the bill comes from lifting payroll taxes on households making more than $250,000. On average, the annual tax bill for households making more than $1 million a year will rise by $46,000 in 2013, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group. Another major piece of financing would cut Medicare subsidies for private insurers, ultimately affecting their executives and shareholders.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/24/business/24leonhardt.html

It's the law, 2013:

Net Investment Income Tax

A new Net Investment Income Tax goes into effect starting in 2013. The 3.8 percent Net Investment Income Tax applies to individuals, estates and trusts that have certain investment income above certain threshold amounts. The IRS and the Treasury Department have issued proposed regulations on the Net Investment Income Tax. Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail or hand delivered to the IRS. For additional information on the Net Investment Income Tax, see our questions and answers.

Additional Medicare Tax

A new Additional Medicare Tax goes into effect starting in 2013. The 0.9 percent Additional Medicare Tax applies to an individual’s wages, Railroad Retirement Tax Act compensation, and self-employment income that exceeds a threshold amount based on the individual’s filing status. The threshold amounts are $250,000 for married taxpayers who file jointly, $125,000 for married taxpayers who file separately, and $200,000 for all other taxpayers. An employer is responsible for withholding the Additional Medicare Tax from wages or compensation it pays to an employee in excess of $200,000 in a calendar year. The IRS and the Department of the Treasury have issued proposed regulations on the Additional Medicare Tax. Comments may be submitted electronically, by mail or hand delivered to the IRS. For additional information on the Additional Medicare Tax, see our questions and answers.

http://www.irs.gov/uac/Affordable-Care-Act-Tax-Provisions

[Motown_Johnny]

12. I don't think that is the case.

Medicaid is paid for through the Government. Private health insurance is paid for through premiums.


Arguing that the people on Medicaid will drive up health care premiums is just wrong. The real problem was people without any insurance using emergency rooms and never paying the bill. That did drive up insurance premiums.


You can argue that the increase in Medicaid recipients will drive up taxes, but it is already paid for. Plus the fact that so many (R) states did not increase Medicaid that the costs are lower than planned (yes that is a bad thing).

[B2G]

4. The financials do matter here.

What we're not seeing are the numbers behind the totals. Age demographics, number of subsidized plans vs non-subsidized ones...

I'd really like to see more details released.

[ProSense]

6. You need to read up on the law, and again

the OP is very good news.

[ProSense]

7. ACA Signups on Vermont:

<...>

--VERMONT: OK, this gets very confusing. VT supposedly has 57K uninsured (or 65K according to other sources). However, the current tally has 45K enrollees (24K private, 21K Medicaid), plus another 33K who are supposedly being automatically shifted over to Medicaid...which already gets us to 78,000 people. Obviously there's a lot of overlap here, and/or people who already had coverage who are simply switching to an ACA-compliant one via the exchange.

<...>

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/24/1265095/-ACA-Signups-Too-crazy-to-keep-up-today-but-here-s-some-tidbits

[DesMoinesDem]

8. More than 1 Million Californians had their insurance cancelled

so there are more than 600,000 MORE uninsured people in California than there was earlier this year.

[ProSense]

9. They are

"More than 1 Million Californians had their insurance cancelled so there are more than 600,000 MORE uninsured people in California than there was earlier this year."

...likely among those rushing to sign up, and will continue to sign up through March. They'll be better off.

[JNinWB]

10. Individuals not receiving a subsidy can sign up with a broker or directly with the insurer.

These enrollees are most likely not counted in the numbers released. Individuals with the cancelled policies may have selected other coverage with their existing insurer.

Everyone's policies are "cancelled" each year and new policies are selected during open enrollment.

[geek tragedy]

15. Thank you for the factually false Republican talking point.

Because, of course, all 1 million that had their existing policy cancelled simply shrugged their shoulders and didn't sign up for a different policy with their carrier, or through an insurance broker, etc etc. In Fox News world anyways.

And, of course, all 1 million of those insurance policies were cancelled because of the ACA, and not a single instance of the insurance companies spinning it.

[DesMoinesDem]

17. Silly me, believing what the California Insurance Commisioner said.

I should just get the latest propaganda and spin, i mean truth, from the people here with the healthcare.gov avatars. No way they could be biased.

[geek tragedy]

18. The California Insurance Commissioner said that every single person

who got a cancellation notice either got a plan through the exchanges or is going uninsured?

Because that's what you claimed.

Fromsomeone whose postings here are indistinguishable from those of the Koch brothers, who is more postiively disposed to Rand Paul than Barack Obama

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023209575#post79

complaining about pro-Democratic propaganda is a little rich.

[DesMoinesDem]

19. Says the guy that repeats Dick Cheney's talking points.

Amazing you have time to try to spin everything about ACA to be positive along with your NSA talking points. Busy schedule.

[geek tragedy]

20. Amazing how the only things you post about are where you agree with Rand Paul

and oppose Obama. Also funny how you continually lie about where I stand on the NSA--just a blanket assertion that I agree with Dick Cheney just because I call your buddy Rand Paul a racist rightwing fucknut.

Much better to be an Obama/Democratic apologist than a Rand Paul/Tea Party apologist. But, you obviously disagree.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=2839366

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023209575#post79


Just for the record--your long record of acting as an advocate for the white supremacist assholes in the Paul family is well documented:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3215455

So, whether you oppose the ACA strictly on your Libertarian beliefs or because you agree with the Pauls on President Obama's immutable characteristics is unknown.

[DesMoinesDem]

21. You get so upset when I point out you use the same talking points as Cheney, Fleischer, Rove, etc.

All you have is personal attacks because you have no principles. So sad.

[geek tragedy]

22. What talking points on the NSA would those be?

Please cite my words, not theirs. I have done you the courtesy of showing your long history of making excuses for, defending, and advocating on behalf of Ron and Rand Paul and their racist ideology.

[DesMoinesDem]

23. Sorry, I don't care enough about your propoganda

to search all of your posts. I'm not paid to post here. I call it out when I see it. Everyone knows you're an NSA apologist that uses Cheney's talking points. And my posts that you have cited don't show what you think they show. You always think I'm trying to hide from what I post. I post here so people can see it, not to hide from it. You're posts are always the same. Propaganda talking points followed by personal attacks to deflect from the subject. Your deflections won't give the 600,000 Californians that lost insurance do to the ACA their insurance back.

[geek tragedy]

24. Shorter version: "Yeah you busted me pimping Ron Paul and making up shit

about your posts, so I'm just gonna double down on the shit I made up about Californians and the ACA."

[Comrade Grumpy]

11. This is causing great pain at Fox News.

[HereSince1628]

13. It's also causing envy in about half the state without medicaid expansion...

I know everyone thinks this will be great for 2014, but because the issue has been so partisan I'm not sure. All I can say is maybe.

[napkinz]

14. :)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Citizens-UnTied/478986762118129

[napkinz]

16. Millions Are Benefitting ...

https://www.facebook.com/Republicansareidiots1