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The last Obamacare sign up?

Today is the last day to sign up for Obamacare for 2017.  If President Trump has his way, it could be the last day to sign up for Obamacare ever.  In fact, Marketplace reports that

Trump administration decided to pull ads promoting last-minute sign-ups, although it reversed that decision shortly after.

The media put forth mixed estimates of the degree to which a potential Trump repeal of Obamacare has affected sign-ups.  On the one hand, people worried that this is their last chance to sign up, may rush to get Obamacare coverage before it is repealed.  In fact, NPR reports the following:

“Our volume has been the same as it has been in past years,” [Katie Nicol, a senior manager who oversees the five so-called navigators’ said.

That tracks with the latest numbers released by the Department of Health and Human Services. As of Jan. 14, 8.8 million people had signed up for coverage — slightly more than last year.

On the other hand, few people will want to sign up for an insurance plan that may be eliminated just a few months from now.  The Washington Post reports:

As of Monday, grass-roots Get Covered America groups in three-dozen states had 30 percent fewer consumers requesting online appointments to get assistance in choosing health plans compared with a year ago, according to the nonprofit organization Enroll America.

We’ll see what the final numbers say, but the only thing certain for 2018 is that Obamacare–and health care more generally–will not stay the same.

 

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