Republicans question coverage under HealthCare.gov | PCWorldAbout 365,000 U.S. residents have signed...

1. Republicans question coverage under HealthCare.gov
Republicans question coverage under HealthCare.gov | PCWorld
About 365,000 U.S. residents have signed up for new health insurance through HealthCare.gov and
other means, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced, but Republican
lawmakers questioned whether millions of people would lose existing coverage by Jan. 1.
Health coverage enrollment numbers rose significantly in November, HHS Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius told a congressional committee Wednesday, but enrollments are running far behind HHS
projections made before the flawed Oct. 1 launch of HealthCare.gov.
HHS is seeing "very, very positive trends" with enrollments, Sebelius said during a U.S. House of
Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing. "There is tremendous interest," she
said. "They"re eager for information, and they"re desperate, many people are, for affordable
coverage that they"ve never had before in their lives."
Sebelius agreed with lawmakers that the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov has led to a slowerthan-expected enrollment pace, with internal projections from September expecting 3.3 million
people to enroll in insurance coverage by the end of the year.
Asked if she should have delayed the launch of HealthCare.gov, Sebelius declined to offer a direct
answer, but said that in hindsight she would have liked more time for testing the website. The first
weeks of HealthCare.gov ended up being "beta testing," she said. "I certainly wish we could"ve
saved millions of people a very frustrating experience, and had a smoother technology launch."
Republican lawmakers questioned whether more U.S. residents would lose coverage than sign up as
the Affordable Care Act forces insurance carriers to dump some plans that don"t comply with
coverage requirements. Throughout the year, President Barack Obama promised that people who
liked their current plans could keep them under the law, but Republicans have pointed to estimates
that more than 5 million U.S. residents will lose old coverage.
"We are at a point where, come Jan. 1, 2014, millions more people will have lost coverage than
signed up because of the health care law," Committee Chairman Fred Upton, a Michigan
Republican, said earlier this week. "Of all the Americans who have been affected by the law, the vast
majority are now without health coverage this holiday season and worried if they will be able to
afford a new plan."
Democrats on the committee disputed the Republican numbers, saying many people are finding
better coverage for cheaper prices through the new plans available through the Affordable Care Act.
Some Republicans have demanded that their constituents be allowed to keep health insurance that
doesn"t cover hospitalization, said Representative Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat.
"I think it"s absurd to keep arguing over these lousy, skeletal plans," he said.
Several Republican members of the committee also raised concerns that some enrollees wouldn"t
have the coverage they expect Jan. 1 because HHS is still working on some back-end functionality at
HealthCare.gov. Work continues on some functionality, Sebelius said, but she said she"s confident
coverage will be available Jan. 1.

2. Through the end of November, nearly 365,000 people enrolled through HealthCare.gov, state
insurance websites, call centers and other means, with the number of enrollees in November four
times the number in October, HHS said. About 39.1 million people have visited the state and federal
sites. The agency didn"t break down how many people applied for health insurance through
HealthCare.gov.
Since Oct. 1, 1.9 million U.S. residents have completed the coverage eligibility process but have not
yet selected an insurance plan, Sebelius said. An additional 800,000 U.S. residents, through their
applications, were found eligible for Medicaid or the Children"s Health Insurance Program in
October and November.
Some lawmakers accused HHS of not giving them the most relevant numbers because many health
insurance enrollees have not yet paid the premiums for their new plans. Payments from enrollees
aren"t due until the end of the month, and HHS doesn"t yet have an estimate of the number of
people who"ve paid the premiums, Sebelius said.
At one point in the hearing, Representative Michael Burgess, a Texas Republican and former doctor,
suggested enrollees are confused about paying for the plans they"ve signed up for. Burgess said he
was unable make a premium payment through HealthCare.gov.
"You make a payment to an insurance company, you don"t pay the federal government," Sebelius
said. "You make the payment directly to the insurance."
Burgess asked if HHS will guarantee that enrollees visiting health-care providers in early January
will be covered. HHS says people will be covered Jan. 1 if they sign up by Dec. 23, but what if "you
never write the check, you never make the payment"? Burgess said.
"Then you"re not covered," Sebelius said. "We tell people over and over again they are enrolled
when they make a payment. We turn their name over to the insurance company."