Vermont: A Case Study
Vermont has signed up 2.5 percent of its population for the Affordable Care Act, a higher proportion than any other state. Here’s why that’s bad news.
…[I]n theory, almost 10 percent of the population of Vermont needs to sign up for insurance in the first three weeks of December, just to avoid losing coverage…Nonetheless, for the state of Vermont, 2.5 percent of its population signed up represents a disastrous failure, not a roaring success. That figure means the state hasn’t even managed to sign up the people who already had insurance, much less cover anyone new. And if it can’t get things working better by March, when those temporary renewals expire, then Green Mountain Care will have resulted in a net loss of insurance coverage for the state.
Source: Megan McArdle.
This is just embarrassing how small a subset of the population ACA is covering.
What do you expect with just a single provider signed on? Expanded choice – I don’t think so.
This is such a persistent problem across smaller states. Outreach is also a hassle across the rural parts of these New England states.
How about the extended period for existing plans?
I’m glad I don’t live there.
In all fairness, Vermont may not be the best state for a case study, as it does not represent the general demographics of the United States. I will be interested to see these numbers for all states as we get closer and closer to the Era of Obamacare, though.
So just a quarter of the covered patients lost…
It’s neighbors aren’t doing any better.
We live in a time filled with uncertainty. Luckily, I can always count on the Affordable Care Act to disappoint me.
True statement. And disappointment’s around to stay.
What’s sad is that this state – one of Obama’s biggest supporters – has such a low enrollment. I shudder to think what the number of sign ups will be in states that didn’t want the ACA passed.
Except that the 10% of the population who Megan suggests lost their insurance did not really lose it.
I am almost positive that Vermont was like Minnesota:
if you were in the individual market and took no action, your insurance was automatically extended, albeit with a price increase.
This is very different than states like California, where the insurance commission forced non-compliant policies to literally disappear on Jan 1.
This is no excuse for the awful rollout — but I have found you cannot discuss the ACA in complete accuracy unless you go state by state.