UPDATE: The Associated Press reported that Connect for Health Colorado’s enrollee goal is 136,000 by the end of March 2014, and revised sign-ups in October to 3,700. So, make that just 2.7% of goal. Heckuvajob, guys.
Last week, we reported that Colorado’s Obamacare exchange had signed up just 3,400 enrollees compared to 34,000 Medicaid enrollees. That’s one enrollee in the exchange for every ten in Medicaid, for you mathematicians at home. This week, healthcare number crunchers, Avalere Health, published estimates on participation in the state level exchanges based on a proprietary formula its consultants devised. According to Avalere’s estimates published in the Washington Post, Colorado’s sign-ups represent just four percent of its 2014 goal.
The national program’s disastrous launch is well documented, with much of the blame for low enrollment numbers placed squarely on its technical failures. But according to Connect for Health’s “Metrics” webpage, the Colorado exchange website is working well over 99% of the time. The metrics page showed that the site had 364,000 unique visitors. If even just 20% of its visitors had signed up, Colorado would have already made its 2014 numbers. So, what’s the problem?
Could it be (gasp) that Coloradans think the healthcare exchange options are BS because they have higher deductibles, higher premiums, and fewer care options? Is Colorado proving to be a harbinger state once again? Once the national site is fixed, will Americans actually sign up for the national exchange or will they sit on the sidelines like Coloradans? Fortunately for the Obama administration, the technical issues have dominated the conversation. The fundamental debate begins the day the Obamacare website is functional. Although, who knows when that will happen.
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