The number of announced enrollments for Obamacare is, as Scott says, ridiculously low. The administration hopes, of course, that the pace will pick up considerably once the Obamacare website is fixed. But it can’t say that the site will be fixed by the end of November. And even once the website is fully functional, the cost of the plans available for purchase will probably deter many potential enrollees.
Now, in addition, there is a new deterrent to enrollment — legislative uncertainty. The House likely will pass legislation permitting people to keep their insurance plans. The Senate may do so as well. Would President Obama veto such legislation? Who knows?
In the meantime, folks who have lost their insurance plans have no incentive to enroll in a new one. Better to first find out whether the need to do so will be eliminated by a legislative fix that enables them to keep their old plan.
The previously uninsured would be unaffected by this legislative fix. But they too may be reluctant to enroll just now, given the unfavorable publicity and sense of uncertainty surrounding Obamacare. Indeed, enactment of “Keep Your Insurance” legislation would create doubts about the sustainability of the entire program.
Why enroll under these circumstances?
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