It’s the little boy who cried wolf, Obamacare edition.
Chad Henderson, a 21-year-old from Georgia, was hailed by the media as the lone American who actually completed registration for Obamacare’s exchanges while millions suffered glitches, long waits and system errors throughout the process. But Chad Henderson is too good to be true, according to Reason.com’s Peter Suderman, who interviewed Chad’s father, Bill Henderson.
“Bill Henderson told me that both he and his son were interested in getting coverage, but that he had not enrolled in any plan yet, and to his knowledge, neither had his son,” Suderman wrote. “He also said that when they do enroll, getting the most coverage for the least money would be the goal, and that he expects that he and his son will get coverage under the same plan.”
The elder Henderson, according to Reason, contradicted nearly aspect of his son’s story, from Chad enrolling sans his parents to the notion that he was even enrolled in a plan.
“Bill told me that Chad had been looking into plans online. ‘He told me that there’s different plans. And we haven’t decided which plans to enroll in yet,'” Suderman wrote. “I asked him whether he and his son had talked about going on separate plans, and he told me that, ‘We’ll probably go on the same plan, more than likely.’”
When Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges launched Oct. 1 with substantial glitches, the media searched high and low for someone who was able to make it all the way through the process. Chad Henderson appeared to be the only person in America who actually completed the enrollment, posting his success to both his Facebook and Twitter accounts, and including local media outlets in his tweet.
According to the 21-year-old, he enrolled in the online marketplaces, waiting three hours to finish registering both him and his father in a plan at 3 a.m. Chad Henderson said he signed up for an unsubsidized private health insurance plan costing $175 per month, an expensive venture for a Millennial making only $7,000 a year. His enrolled his father, according to multiple reports, in a separate plan costing $250 per month after subsidies the elder Henderson qualified for based on his $24,000 salary.
The media jumped at the chance to speak to an enrollee, and Chad Henderson appeared in The Washington Post, Huffington Post and POLITICO. His story was promoted by the official Obamacare Twitter feed and blasted out to the media by EnrollAmerica, the group pushing Obamacare. Additionally, the Department of Health and Human Services asked the 21-year-old to take part in a conference call they were hosting.
But it was all a farce.
According to The Washington Post’s Sarah Kliff, who spoke with Chad Henderson, and Suderman, the 21-year-old said he hasn’t actually purchased a plan yet but didn’t lie to the media.
“Most reporters … they haven’t had access to the web site.They weren’t very clear as to how the process went. Most people have no understanding that it’s a two step process,” Chad Henderson told Kliff.
He went on to tell The Post that yes, he enrolled in a marketplace, but no, he hasn’t purchased a plan, despite the media’s ‘confusion.’
“We have not purchased a specific.The application has information and once you submit it, it reviews eligibility. Obviously I’m not eligible for Medicaid because our governor isn’t expanding it. And that’s what I meant by enrollment,” Chad Henderson said. “I had assumed that I never said I purchased a plan or enrolled in marketplace. I’m not backing down on my comments. I have not misled anyone.”
But, according to Chad Henderson’s Facebook page, he boasted not only enrolling in Obamacare, but getting quality affordable health insurance.
According to multiple reports, Chad Henderson worked for Organizing for Action, the group run by former Obama campaign aides, and innocently wanted to law to succeed.
“I’ve read a few articles about how young people are very critical to the law’s success,” he told The Washington Post earlier this week. “I really just wanted to do my part to help out with the entire process.”
And the Georgian is right about that. More than 2.7 million 18- to 35-year-olds need to register in Obamacare’s exchanges in order for the law to succeed and premiums remain low. But Chad Henderson’s failure to do so reinforces the very instability surrounding Obamacare.
Many Americans experienced trouble enrolling and the White House has failed to acknowledge how many actually succeeded, though they have released figures surrounding the number of people who visited the website. And as the exchanges remain open — with glitches still occurring — more reports are emerging of states saying they’ve enrolled not a single person.
