Much ballyhooed numbers on Obamacare enrollment are released, with an estimated six million enrolling, but Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) expresses doubt. See the video and news story here.
Even in the face of such strong enrollment numbers, though, which have not yet been verified, the government has moved to extend the open-enrollment date for federal exchanges, even after a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) spokesperson said “we don’t actually have the statutory authority to extend the open enrollment period in 2014.” And of course, she is correct, as reported here. The open enrollment period is specifically defined by statute, and isn’t open to interpretation. Forbes has an interesting article on it, go here.
What this means is that people who have recently fallen ill or are otherwise uncovered will be able to get health insurance beyond the open-enrollment date, something that troubles insurers, some of whom are predicting double digit rate increases for 2015.
UPDATE: Here are three little questions about those Obamacare enrollment numbers.