With 7 million enrolled, Obama exudes new confidence about health-care law

WASHINGTON - More than seven million Americans have now enrolled in private coverage on the nation's health insurance marketplaces, thanks to a wave of late sign-ups that has pushed the latest enrollment tally beyond the original goal set by the Congressional Budget Office.

A fiery President Obama made the formal announcement in a Rose Garden ceremony Tuesday afternoon that served as a victory lap and pep rally for administration officials, Democratic lawmakers and civilian volunteers who labored in support of the health law, despite a flawed federal enrollment website, a skeptical public and stiff opposition from Republicans.

While further challenges remain, both politically and logistically, the unexpected success of the marketplace enrollment period helps ensure that the president's signature legislation will usher in one of the broadest expansions of national health coverage since the Medicaid and Medicare programs were launched in 1965 and the Children's Health Insurance Program was established in 1997.

And, the final tally may be underestimated because many applications are still not completed. At a major enrollment event Monday in Philadelphia, for example, about 90 percent of those found eligible were told to return later because website problems had prevented them from finishing.

Through a combination of new marketplace insurance, coverage for adult children up to age 26 on their parents' health plans and expanded eligibility for Medicaid, an estimated 9.5 million to 9.8 million uninsured Americans likely have gained health coverage under the law, said economist Katherine Carman of the RAND Corp., a nonprofit think tank in Santa Monica, Calif.

Those estimates will continue to grow, since Medicaid enrollment continues throughout the year and many states and the federal government are extending marketplace enrollment beyond the official sign-up deadline of March 31.

"The Affordable Care Act hasn't completely fixed our long-broken health-care system," Obama told the Rose Garden gathering. "But this law has made our health-care system a lot better. A lot better."

"Citizens know the economic security of health insurance who didn't just a few years ago," the president said. "And that's something to be proud of. Regardless of your politics, or your feelings about me, or your feelings about this law. That's something that's good for our economy. That's good for our country. And there's no good reason to go back."

His tone and demeanor were in sharp contrast to the dejection and frustration he showed in a November White House speech when the HealthCare.gov website was broken and he was compelled to let people with canceled health plans keep their coverage for another year.

On Tuesday, the president exuded confidence about the health law's future and irritation and amazement over the constant political attacks.

The enrollment milestone is the payoff of a lean but resourceful operation that deployed tools, tactics and metrics honed on the campaign trail to enroll as many people as possible over the last six weeks, according to senior administration officials.

The intensive outreach used local radio, Twitter, YouTube videos and celebrity endorsements from the likes of Miami Heat star LeBron James and singer Katy Perry, as well as 5,000 outreach events in community centers and churches.

The hope was to reach young people, minorities and moms, with special focus on states like Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina with high rates of uninsured, and 25 cities with similarly high rates.

Efforts from health law support groups like Enroll America played an equally important role. The nonprofit organization and its staff of 27,000 volunteers and 2,300 partner organizations had one-on-one conversations with more than 635,000 consumers and held more than 22,000 enrollment events nationwide.

Republicans were unmoved by the numbers, noting that the White House still hasn't answered questions about the enrollees, including how many have actually paid their premiums. House Republicans said the figures don't affect the pledge earlier this week of House Speaker John A. Boehner (R., Ohio), to continue trying to repeal the law.

And Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said that "all across the country our constituents are having an unpleasant interaction with Obamacare. Whether they can sign up for a policy or not, they are discovering, of course, higher premiums, a higher deductible. Many of them are losing their jobs and so it really is a catastrophe for the country both for the health-care providers and the consumers."

A few routes remain open for those who missed Monday's health-care enrollment deadline:

Take advantage of the grace period

This special break was created for anyone who began enrolling in an insurance marketplace by Monday's deadline but didn't finish. That includes people stymied by website outages or overwhelmed phone lines, missing information on applications, and other problems or confusion. Those who started an application on HealthCare.gov by March 31 should log on and finish it as soon as possible. People applying online will have until April 15 to finish, administration spokesman Aaron Albright said Tuesday. Paper applications will be accepted until April 7.

Use a special enrollment period

The government also is offering special extensions for a host of problems that might have prevented people from signing up through a marketplace: Natural disasters. Domestic abuse. A serious illness. Mistakes by application counselors. Errors by insurance companies. To seek a "special enrollment period," contact the federal call center, at 1-800-318-2596, and explain what went wrong. It's on the honor system. If the extension is approved, that brings another 60 days to enroll.

Sign up for Medicaid

Those who qualify can still enroll in Medicaid - there's no deadline. Eligibility is based on income and varies from state to state. About half the states expanded their Medicaid programs. The main beneficiaries of the change are adults earning up to about $16,100 per year, with no children living at home. Previously, Medicaid was limited mostly to poor children and their parents and people with disabilities.

Buy insurance outside the marketplaces

Buyers can always go directly to an insurance company, but it may be expensive. Plans bought outside the marketplaces don't come with government subsidies that hold down the cost for people with low or mid-level incomes. But they do include the law's consumer protections. For example, insurers can't turn down customers because of preexisting medical conditions. Even after the deadline, buying a plan that meets the law's essential coverage standard reduces the penalty owed, which is based on the number of months without coverage.

Get ready for next time

Open enrollment for 2015 is coming later this year. It's scheduled to begin Nov. 15 and run just three months. That's another chance to get covered or switch into a plan with subsidies.

- Associated PressEndText