Thursday, January 16, 2014

WH: Just Kidding, Our Goal for Young Obamacare Enrollees Is Actually A Lot Lower!

 http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5273b8856bb3f7ae15c39d55/the-new-yorker-cover-on-the-obamacare-disaster-is-excellent.jpg

We've written a fair amount about how Obamacare's financial model is only sustainable if a critical mass of young and healthy Americans sign up for overpriced coverage, the purpose of which would be to offset costs associated with insuring millions of older, sicker Americans. For months, the White House declined to reveal how many young consumers had taken the plunge. That opacity finally (partially) ended this week, when an administration report finally unveiled the percentage of 'young invincibles' in the overall risk pool: Twenty-four percent -- well short of Team Obama's projected goal of nearly 40 percent, and even shy of the Kaiser Foundation's "worst-case scenario."

What portion of that 24 percent is actually paid up and fully enrolled? We still don't know. Young people's paltry participation rates to date have fueled fears of an industry death spiral, expensive taxpayer bailouts, and hiked 2015 premiums. With more consternation on the horizon, the administration has decided to change its own metric for success. Again. Consider the goalposts officially shifted, America:

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