Damn The Numbers, ObamaCare Is A Success In California

By Brian Anderson on November 14, 2013 Subscribe to Brian Anderson's Feed




The U.S. Department Of Health and Human Services released some pretty dismal numbers concerning the sign-ups for ObamaCare. For the 36 states that rely on the federal government website, only 27,000 people have enrolled. States that set up their own exchanges fared slightly better with 79,000. California leads the way with 59,000 of those enrollees prompting officials to proclaim the rollout an unmitigated success.
You’d expect California to do well numbers-wise because the state is quite good at delivering handouts and has a sizeable population with their hand out. But are these numbers really something to gloat about? Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, thinks so and he points to the 2.5 million unique visitors to the state’s website to prove it.
He believes the numbers prove there is an interest in California and figures it’s just a matter of time before more sign up.
“We always expected October not to be out about the numbers, but about kicking the tires. It’s not about the numbers. It’s about the person behind those numbers.”
Well it’s a good thing it’s not about the numbers because even a cursory examination of them does not paint a pretty picture. Of the 59,000 Californians that signed up, there is no way of telling whether they come from the ranks of the previously uninsured or if they are people just switching to an ObamaCare-friendly policy. I wonder if they are counting me.
I knew that my health insurance policy was going to be no good, so I switched it last month. I did it through my provider not the state exchange. I don’t think using people like me as part of the numbers points to success because I already had insurance. BTW, my deductible went up, but at least I’m covered for abortions and maternity. I’m also covered for drug rehab, which is good because Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is my role model and I‘ve been thinking about picking up a crack habit.

Another number that makes ObamaCare a belly-flop in California is that the state has 5.5 million uninsured citizens. How can getting 59k sign-ups in a month an a half be a success when you look at that? For a state with this many eligible people it’s downright pathetic.
The Obama administration had projected at least a half-million people would be enrolled nationwide in the first month, but the federal website has been such a nightmare to use that those numbers fell way short. California, on the other hand, has its own website that works just fine.
Something else to consider are the 1 million Californians that had their insurance cancelled because their policies did not comply with the ObamaCare guidelines. So we have 6.5 million people that need health insurance by the end of the year and only 59,000 have signed up. Yeah, that’s as successful as Napoleon was at Waterloo. Maybe the 1 million cancelled policies don’t count because Obama promised that would never happen.
State officials seem to think the low, yet successful, numbers are due to a lack of community outreach. They believe once the word gets out, more people will enroll. I guess that makes sense if you can buy that there are vast portions of the population that have never heard of ObamaCare. You know, all of those people who haven’t watched TV, listened to the radio, read a newspaper, or used the Internet for the past 3 years.
I don’t blame California for thinking the rollout has been a success; they’re just taking a cue from their boss. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius also thinks everything is going peachy. She said on Wednesday, after the national numbers were released, that despite the troubles she felt things were on track.
“First, in every part of our country Americans are very interested in health care,” Sebelius said. “Even with the issues we’ve had, the marketplace is working and people are enrolling.”
Technically, she’s right. 27,000 people have enrolled. I wonder if she’ll put that on her resume. I have a feeling she’ll be looking for a new job soon.


http://downtrend.com/71superb/damn-t...in-california/