Fewer than 10% of eligible 18- to 34-year-olds signed up for Obamacare
The plan was – and still is – they need huge support from the young crowd who do not have employer-sponsored health insurance to buy into the state or federal exchanges. The goal for the first year was to have 2.8 million enrolled (out of 11.4 million), but total signups are only at 1.1 million through the end of February.
Numbers unexpectedly lower than expected. 😉
From Investor’s Business Daily.
Data through five months of the open-enrollment period show that slightly fewer than 10% of eligible 18- to 34-year-olds have signed up for coverage. Among young men, roughly 1 in 12 has signed up.
The Kaiser Family Foundation puts the ObamaCare-eligible population at 28.6 million, with 40%, or about 11.4 million, in the 18-to-34 age group.
Compared to the size of the potential market, the first-year target of 7 million enrollees, including about 2.8 million young adults, was relatively modest.
Yet it’s now clear that the initial target is well out of reach. The Avalere Health consultancy projected that sign-ups — paid and unpaid — will end March at around 5.4 million.
Through February, not quite 1.1 million young adults had selected an exchange plan. Among this group, the male-female breakdown was about 45% vs. 55%. That matters because women at child-rearing age are more likely to run up big medical bills.
How important is it for the Obama administration and Democrats to get young people enrolled into a plan? It’s kind of obvious, just look at all of the marketing they are forking out millions to produce! I’m not seeing any ads targeting the 47 to 67 age group. That group doesn’t know what Funny or Die even is.
The exchanges charge the young – and presumably more healthy – higher premiums to offset the higher costs to care for older people. The entire plan is a money redistribution scheme. Sure, private insurance companies do something similar, but this is the government mandating you buy. Totally different equation. The Democrats thought the good young people would be more than willing to pay up now – for government-sponsored benefits later – since it is the “right thing to do.” A lot of young people agreed – saying it would be totally fab – until it came to the “day of revelation” … when they had to sign up and actually cut the check.
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what would possibly motivate that demo to sign up?? covered by parents through 26–a 7-10 year lapse until they can get a ‘real’ job with coverage?? no brainer.? what is really enjoyable about the ‘sell job’ is that o has the audacity to invoke ‘responsibility’.? yes, be responsible.? give up your cell phone and cable to pay for grammy & grampy to get a little care.? not too much though–in the end they will be death paneled.?? ‘fighting for you’?? yep.
Also, this is a computer savvy demographic that realizes that the level of personal information security in signing up at the ?bamacare site is the equivalent of rolling around naked in a hospital dumpster.
FYI CT. ?IF you are forced into Medicaid, as the numbers demonstrate, the CT plan does not cross state borders. ?IF you have a child at school, out of state, your CT plan will not cover their expenses. ?IF you need medical care out of state, you will not be covered. ?My substandard plan from the fly by night insurer, Anthem, did not have these restrictions.
Well the young are about to flood the system- just as soon as they watch this PSA with FLOTUS and some old bags: ?http://m.nationalreview.com/corner/373364/latest-obamacare-pitch-celebrity-moms-we-nag-you-because-we-love-you-andrew-johnson
Why doesn’t Mr. Pen-n-phone just decry that all such young people are automatically signed up.? All you need to show is a birth certificate or…oh, they don’t want to discriminate against Kenyans?
I agree with Kate, even a nitwit would realize that 18-26 yr olds would go on their parents policy. There is not a whiff of common sense in ACA. There is nothing in the bill to lower the cost of insurance, no selling across state lines, no torte reform nor allowing for individual policies tailored to need rather than ridiculous mandates. I’m not even going to mention hiring more IRS personnel to fine us (ok I did). Besides the fact that 18-34 have the hardest time getting jobs, if lucky enough to have gone to college, massive loan payments, higher gas prices and if they smoke, forget it. Who has money to buy a health insurance policy?