Posted on 10/23/2013 6:53:44 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
FARGO – The Obama administration asked North Dakota’s largest health insurer not to publicize how many people have signed up for health insurance through a new online exchange, a company official says.
During a Monday forum in Fargo for people interested in signing up for coverage via the exchange, James Nichol of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota told the crowd his company received the request from the federal government earlier Monday. Nichol is a consumer sales manager for the company.
Still, a spokeswoman from Blue Cross Blue Shield says about 14 North Dakotans have signed up for coverage since the federal exchange went live Oct. 1. That brings total statewide enrollment to 20 – less than one a day.
Spokeswoman Andrea Dinneen said Tuesday that while Blue Cross generally does not release its internal sales numbers, it has in this case because the problematic rollout of the federal health care exchange is a “unique situation.”
Dinneen said she didn’t have any information about the directive that Nichol referenced Monday night.
An official from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, one of the main the federal agencies handling the federal marketplace, would not directly address questions about the request made of Blue Cross Blue Shield, including whether other insurers were also asked to keep quiet about enrollment.
Representatives from the two other North Dakota companies offering coverage on the federal exchange – Medica and Sanford Health – said they had not received similar directions.
Officials in many of the 14 states that set up their own marketplace, which includes Minnesota, have released some preliminary numbers. Minnesota officials said last week that about 3,700 had begun the process of enrolling for health insurance through the marketplace, called MNsure.
But in North Dakota and the 35 other states that let the federal government take the lead on the exchange, releases from individual insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield are the only avenue to get enrollment figures until federal officials release statistics, likely sometime in mid-November.
The exchanges route health insurance shoppers to providers that offer plans that qualify for the various rules and regulations of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, often referred to as Obamacare.
In an interview after the Blue Cross Blue Shield event at the Ramada in Fargo, Nichol said he had no further information about the administration’s instructions Monday.
Medica spokesman Greg Bury said the company had received enrollment files but had not yet verified them and thus did not have an enrollment count.
Sanford had enrolled six customers as of Tuesday, spokesman Darren Huber said.
Gee, I wonder why it is about 14? Maybe it is 13? Or maybe 15? It isn't that North Dakotans can't count, they consistently rank among the top tier of states on test scores despite ranking nearer the bottom on expenditures per pupil.
:) That “Scam-Wow!” is a hoot.
Well, as you'll note from the article, some are "in the process" so I guess some may sign-up and some may head for the hills.
Or to put it another way, “It’s complicated.”
Russia and Israel are the best data collectors. Imagine if Obama had listened to Putin when he delivered the Boston Bomber names on a platter. And if Bubba had taken Osama when he was offered on a platter...twice. How different the world might be.
Last night on FOX there was discussion of Rubio planning to introduce a bill on Monday to delay the individual mandate for a year (which the GOP has been promoting ever since the business mandate was delayed several months ago). At first we were thinking this was a bad idea by Rubio, because it would postpone the crash and burn of 0bamacare. Then thinking it through, consider that it might be a BRILLIANT move by Rubio, due to the bill will never be passed, AND, just the introduction of it will preclude 0bama from coming out in a few weeks and saying that he has decided the right thing to do (due to the failed website and sign-up numbers) is to delay the individual mandate.
(Not that he is supposed to have the authority to change the law at his personal whim, right?)
I think the GOP has nothing to lose, and it will FORCE the crash and burn scenario to play out. And yes, then the GOP can even say they have tried and tried again to delay, defund, defuse, etc., and not been able to succeed. So this is owned entirely by 0bama and the DNC.
Isn’t funny how transparently un-transparent “The Great ObamaNation” is.
Hiding like the rats they are.
-PJ
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