Florida Obamacare Enrollment Total Plummets By A Quarter

[rangerrebew]

- The Daily Caller - http://dailycaller.com -



Florida Obamacare Enrollment Total Plummets By A Quarter

Posted By Sarah Hurtubise On 7:33 PM 08/29/2014 In | No Comments




Florida’s Obamacare enrollment is now over 220,000 lower than the Obama administration’s most recent tally, according to a report from the state insurance department.

The Obama administration hasn’t released updated Obamacare enrollment statistics since May, when the Department of Health and Human Services put the number of Florida sign-ups at 983,775 — but the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says that now, just 762,723 Floridians have health insurance through the exchange.

The state insurance department issued a report this week including updated exchange enrollment, based on rate filings from state health insurers. By June 2014, the number of Obamacare enrollees in Florida was almost a quarter lower than the Obama administration’s sign-up numbers just one month before.

Insurance department spokesman Harvey Bennett told the South Florida Business Journal that the enrollment numbers are lower than the Obama administrations because some sign-ups never paid their first premiums and others may have dropped out afterwards. A portion of the federal tally could also have been duplicate enrollments, Bennett said.

The 220,000-plus drop in one state is one of the first updates on Obamacare statistics and could have serious national implications. The Obama administration trumpeted an Obamacare victory with 8 million sign-ups, but if other states are undergoing similar enrollment drops the real number of Americans who have bought coverage could be much lower.

The administration has unsurprisingly been hesitant to release any updated information about Obamacare exchange enrollment nationally. Republicans Senators John Barrasso and Lamar Alexander asked Obamacare chief Marilyn Tavenner this week to release updated information, including how many have dropped coverage after signing up.  (RELATED: GOP Struggling To Get Answers On Obamacare Enrollment)

Follow Sarah on Twitter



Article printed from The Daily Caller: http://dailycaller.com

URL to article: http://dailycaller.com/2014/08/29/florida-obamacare-enrollment-total-plummets-by-a-quarter/

[rangerrebew]

- Washington Free Beacon - http://freebeacon.com -



Florida Healthcare Website Signs Up 30 People in Six Months

Posted By Washington Free Beacon Staff On August 29, 2014 @ 11:40 am In Issues | No Comments


Florida set up its own website to help the uninsured purchase health care, but after six months only 30 people have signed up for it, and seven of them have since canceled their plans.

Florida put $900,000 into the project, called Florida Health Choices, while declining to expand Medicaid or partner with the federal government and create a state exchange which would use Healthcare.gov.

The Miami Herald reports:


These numbers are dwarfed by the nearly 764,000 Floridians who are too poor to afford subsidized plans, yet can’t qualify for Medicaid under Florida’s stringent standards. They are supposed to be the target market for Health Choices.

But Health Choices doesn’t sell comprehensive health insurance to protect consumers from big-ticket medical costs such as hospitalization. Instead, it has limited benefit options and discount plans for items like dentist visits, prescription drugs and eyeglasses.

The plan’s biggest backer in the Legislature blames the lack of business on the federal Affordable Care Act, which feature comprehensive plans with varying subsidies for those who qualify.

“Obviously we wanted more (business), but the competition is giving it away for free,” said state Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach.


Article printed from Washington Free Beacon: http://freebeacon.com

URL to article: http://freebeacon.com/issues/florida-healthcare-website-signs-up-30-people-in-six-months/