Liberals have been claiming that if Obamacare doesn’t roll out as smooth as butter, it will be because of Republican obstructionism. But implementation architects have managed to screw up nicely on their own.
On the first day of national enrollment, California gleefully reported that it had welcomed 5 million visitors to its state’s exchange website — an inflated figure it had to revise downward a mere 87 percent. The number of applicants who have actually enrolled is highly classified information, but reports suggest that as of October 3 the number was between zero and 10.
Colorado, Oregon, and Hawaii, which also set up their own exchanges, have each had 0 completed applications. Hawaii’s rollout was so disastrous it had to relaunch the state website two weeks after the first launch.
One determinant of Obamacare’s feasibility will be the percentage of younger enrollees. Reporter Sarah Kliff boasted that one third of applicants to Connecticut’s program were under 35, but never revealed what number actually enrolled. (For its part, Maryland, which poured millions into ensuring a successful rollout, reported that 36 percent of those who created accounts are under 35.)
Kentucky and Washington seem to be the only states that have captured even a fraction of their projected enrollees. Rhode Island snagged 1,698 enrollees, as of Oct. 11; Vermont got 115 as of Oct. 10. New York, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, and Washington, D.C. aren’t talking.
And remember: these are the 14 states plus D.C. that are the most gung-ho for Obamacare and have been doing the most to prepare for it! The other 36 states, which are relying on the federal exchange, have been having considerably less luck.
The administration claims that its site healthcare.gov got 14.6 million visits in its first 10 days. However, one insurance industry executive who spoke to the Washington Post anonymously estimated that enrollment in the federal exchange as of October 3 was in “single digits.”
People have been having so much trouble with healthcare.gov that insurance companies have been directing interested parties to sign up using their websites. However, individuals who apply through insurance websites won’t be able to take advantage of government subsidies, which was one of the big selling points of the plan.
So how many people have enrolled in Texas, Florida, and the other states using the federal exchange? Why, you’ll have to wait until the middle of November, which is when the Obama administration will deign to give us an update.
Maybe potential enrollees who are having problems should try logging in during non-peak hours, say 3 in the morning, and give it a couple of weeks and hundreds of tries before giving up. Oh, wait — they already have!
Yet administration shills insist that the rapidly multiplying glitches are no big deal.
Losing Max Baucus is one thing, but when you’ve got Wolf Blitzer, Robert Gibbs, and Ezra Klein jumping ship, you know you’re in trouble.
