Free Republic

Nearly a half million Californians enrolled in Obamacare health plans through the end of December, according to data released Monday. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 498,794 Californians picked health exchange plans, which gives the state 23 percent of the nearly 2.1 million enrollments nationwide. Considering the state has about 12 percent of the nation’s population, California has been more effective than other states in enrolling residents. The state has nearly met the lower threshold of predictions that call for 500,000 to 700,000 Californians to buy policies by March 31. “There is a feeling of optimism here...

Think signing up for health insurance through Covered California is hard? Some consumers say the real battle starts when it comes to finding a doctor or hospital that will take a plan purchased through the state-run health exchange.

I interviewed the deputy director of California’s Obamacare exchange on Friday, Dana Howard. The audio and transcript are below. There is much to marvel at and be alarmed by in the conversation, but the most worrisome admission from Mr. Howard is that CovredCA.com has no projected model of success - it simply doesn’t know what demographic mix must be reached in order for the insurance policies being offered to be sustainable. You should also know that the numbers of “enrolled” are laughably low –less than 1,000 people who list Spanish as their principle language enrolled in October, for example– My...

Covered California executive director Peter Lee told the Chronicle editorial board that he expects 800,000 to 900,000 people to lose their non-grandfathered private insurance policies on Dec. 31, thanks to the Affordable Care Act. (This figure — which is higher than past numbers reported – does not include small business coverage.) “The individual market is changing dramatically,” Lee said. What about President Obama’s promise that if people liked their plan, they could keep it? “I think it was not well stated,” Lee answered. Obama’s rhetoric “may have been an inarticulate way of describing what the realities are.” How many will...