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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 18 deceMber 2017
Sign-ups show health law’s staying power in Trump era
By RICARDO ALONSO-
ZALDIVAR
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A
deadline burst of sign-ups
after a tumultuous year
for the Obama health law
has revealed continued
demand for the program’s
subsidized individual health
plans. But the Affordable
Care Act’s troubles aren’t
over.
On the plus side for the
overhaul, official numbers
showed a sizable share of
first-time customers, 36 per- The HealthCare.gov website is photographed in Washington on
cent, were among those Dec. 15, 2017. A burst of sign-ups is punctuating the end of a
rushing to finish HealthCare. tumultuous year for former President Barack Obama’s health
gov applications in the run- care law.
up to Friday’s enrollment
deadline. said Kevin Watkins of Flor- ing small businesses sell on- their health insurance: Call- ened open enrollment sea-
“People need health care, ence, Alabama.
that is plain and simple,” employed consultant help- 2018. He’ll pay under $100
a month after subsidies. requirement that people
Final national enrollment have health insurance or
numbers aren’t expected risk fines.
until next year because Parallel to that, the admin-
some states running their istration is preparing to issue
own insurance websites rules facilitating the sale of
extended sign-ups to Jan. lower-cost insurance plans
31. States in charge of their that will deliver less than
own programs are striving the law’s “essential” ben-
to equal last year’s enroll- efits package.
ment. Put the combination to-
Enrollment in the 39 states gether and experts say it
served by HealthCare.gov will draw healthy customers
is expected to be lower, away from already shaky
which could intensify criti- ACA insurance markets,
cism of the Trump admin- raising premiums for those
istration’s decision to cut left behind and giving in-
the federal sign-up season surers new reasons to drop
in half. The administration out.
Associated Press has extended the deadline The law’s supporters were
for some people to finish still upbeat as the short-
A self- line, Watkins re-enrolled for ers to the HealthCare.gov son in most states wound
service center on Saturday down.
morning got a recorded “What we are seeing is
message saying “don’t that this insurance is meet-
worry” — if they had left ing people’s needs and it
their phone number before is affordable if you receive
the deadline, they will get financial assistance,” said
a return call and still can Elizabeth Colvin of Founda-
enroll for 2018. tion Communities, a non-
Nationally, 12.2 million peo- profit in Austin, Texas, that
ple had enrolled by the end helps low-income people
of the Obama administra- enroll.
tion’s final sign-up period. “So much of the story has
Under Trump, there could been telling people that
be 1 million to 2 million few- the ACA is not working.
er sign-ups, said Larry Levitt That’s not the reality in cen-
of the nonpartisan Kaiser tral Texas.”
Family Foundation. It was Trump who most no-
Still, it was only a year tably predicted a spectac-
ago that the health law ular collapse for the law.
seemed headed for oblivi- “It’s imploding, and soon
on as Donald Trump swept will explode, and it’s not
into the White House with going to be pretty,” he said
a Republican-controlled this year.
Congress. Now its full re- After a repeal failed in Con-
peal seems to be off the gress, Trump stopped pay-
table. But the program for ments to reimburse insurers
people who don’t have for subsidizing copayments
job-based coverage faces and deductibles, thereby
the same old challenges of boosting premiums. His
high premiums and declin- administration also cut the
ing insurer participation, federal open enrollment
along with some new ones. season in half, slashed the
One new challenge comes ad budget and pulled
from the GOP tax bill, back money for counselors
which repeals the law’s who help people sign up.q