The second enrollment for Obamacare began on Saturday, and already there is lots of good news to report.
1. People enrolling in Obamacare are happy with their coverage.
As The Washington Post reports, A new Gallup poll shows that individuals who have enrolled in insurance plans under Obamacare are happy with the coverage they have received.
The poll shows about three-quarters of Obamacare enrollees rate their quality of care as either excellent (32 percent) or good (42 percent). Among all people who are insured, the numbers are slightly higher, at 38 percent and 43 percent. (Those numbers, we would note, include Obamacare enrollees, so the non-Obamacare-enrollee numbers would be even slightly higher.)
2. Over 100,000 people have already signed up for Obamacare during the second enrollment as of Sunday.
As The New York Daily News reports,
‘The vast majority of people coming to the site were able to get on and do what they were intending to do,’ HHS Secretary Sylcia Mathews Burwell said on NBC’s ‘”Meet the Press,’ adding that more than 500,000 people had logged on to the site since Saturday.
Burwell added that theWhite House expects “strong and healthy growth” in enrollment to bring the total to more than 9 million for 2015.
3. HealthCare.gov is working this time.
As ThinkProgress reports, “HealthCare.gov hasn’t had the same kind of major problems that plagued the site last year.”
CBS News reported that the website was “functioning relatively smoothly” this weekend, while the Washington Post concluded that the process was “generally working.” The Wall Street Journal noted that the federal enrollment site opened for business this weekend to “largely positive reviews,” as people were able to create an account in just minutes — compared to last year, when the process took hours or even days. Even Fox News acknowledged that HealthCare.gov ran “smoothly” on its opening weekend.
4. Obamacare offers significantly more plans this year.
CNBC reports that “more insurers are selling plans this season, indicating growing confidence in the exchanges among those companies.”
“Whether consumers visit the simpler, faster and more intuitive HealthCare.gov or contact the call center, they’re going to find more choices and competitive prices,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell.
ThinkProgress elaborates that “According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 77 new insurers are selling plans in the marketplaces in 2015 — a 25 percent increase from last year,” adding that “A recent USA Today analysis calculated that about 75 percent of the counties participating in the federal health care marketplace have at least one more insurance plan to choose from compared to last year.”
5. Signing up for Obamacare is easier this year.
According to CNBC, “there have been changes to stave off the technological disaster that occurred in the first months of enrollment last year that left most people unable to sign up for coverage. ” and the ease of signing up for healthcare this year is significantly easier than last year.
“For most consumers who are renewing coverage, up to 90 percent of their application will be prefilled based on last year’s application,” the Health and Human Services Department said. “And a new streamlined application reduces the number of screens to 16 with fewer clicks to navigate through the questions for most consumers signing up for the first time. Last year, consumers went through 76 screens to sign up for coverage. This year, along with a simpler, faster application, consumers can shop and enroll on a smartphone, tablet, computer, or by calling the call center or with in-person assistance.”
6. Obamacare premiums haven’t skyrocketed.
ThinkProgress reports that “Although enrolled Americans could see price increases if they stick to their current plan and don’t check out any of their other options,” that
Obamacare premiums are actually lower than expected for this enrollment period. A Center for American Progress analysis found that, in states with federally-run marketplaces, premiums will increase by an average of just 3.9 percent from 2014 to 2015. That’s significantly lower than the average rate of premium growth before the law took effect; between 2008 to 2010, for instance, the national average was a 10.9 percent increase in the private market.
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