In what is being called “the most detailed measure yet,” unnamed Obama administration sources today said that about 476,000 Obamacare applications have been filed. It’s unclear how many people have actually enrolled successfully in the health insurance marketplace, and it doesn’t seem likely that that number will be released today.
Are these 476,000 applications for Obamacare on federal exchanges or state-run exchanges?
— Niels Lesniewski (@nielslesniewski) October 19, 2013
.@IsaacDovere @MelissaTweets What percentage of that is people applying for Medicare?
— Moe Lane (@Ogiel23) (@moelane) October 19, 2013
@IsaacDovere what percentage of the uninsured?
— Jimmy Vielkind (@JimmyVielkind) October 19, 2013
https://twitter.com/BenK84/status/391697022291439616
https://twitter.com/josefmtz/status/391697667669364736
Nearly 500,000 people sounds like a big number compared to the scattered anecdotes of individuals finally getting health coverage, but it’s far short of the administration’s six-month signup goal of 7 million enrollees. Politico’s Edward-Isaac Dovere does some quick calculating.
476k people have applied for Obamacare so far, according to the AP, which means about .15% of the US population in 2.5 weeks
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) October 19, 2013
476k Obamacare applications = .99% of the estimated uninsured Americans applied since 10/1 cc @JimmyVielkind
— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) October 19, 2013
So, what’s the actual number? The White House tweeted yesterday that California alone had seen 100,000 applications started. If only 476,000 nationwide have made it through the pipeline, that’s quite a glitch.
https://twitter.com/iansane_/status/391702932640395264
But wasn’t that 500,000 enrollees?
AP notes 476K is just the application number, not the enrollment number.
— Steven Dennis (@StevenTDennis) October 19, 2013
Reminder:
• White House expected 500,000 enrollees in Obamacare by 10/31
• 476,000 "applications" for Obamacare doesn't equal "enrollment."— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 19, 2013
https://twitter.com/JoshRovner/status/391703562658406400
@JoshRovner Also true! More than a few folks in my feed were confusing the two numbers – reminder was on that score.
— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) October 19, 2013
AP’s Julie Pace writes, “officials continue to refuse to say how many people have actually enrolled in the insurance markets. Without enrollment figures, it’s unclear whether the program is on track to reach the 7 million people projecting by the Congressional Budget Office to gain coverage during the six-month sign-up period.”
President Obama is scheduled to hold a health care event on Monday, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee has scheduled a hearing next week called “HHS PPACA Implementation: Unprepared or Incompetent?” Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is not expected to attend.
Update:
Despite the anonymous nature of the source of the number, White House senior communications adviser Tara McGuinness is spreading the word through her Twitter account. Is she the unnamed source, or is this how the White House gets its numbers?
Nearly half a million applications for health insurance in Market Places nationwide http://t.co/w3hJ9bvUgC
— T. McGuinness (NARA) (@Tara44) October 19, 2013
https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/391706786849648640
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