Why are the Republicans who run North Carolina failing so spectacularly to thwart enrollment in ObamaCare?
North Carolina’s enrollment in the Affordable Care Act federal insurance exchange reached a level in December that was surprising given the state’s prior poor performance in signing people up.
According to federal statistics released last week, North Carolina had 107,778 people signed up by Dec. 28, up from a total of only 8,970 who had signed up by the end of November.
That’s after North Carolina’s exchange became the object of national ridicule when the state had only a handful of signups for all of October.
And when one compares North Carolina’s total to those in similarly sized states that also use the federal exchange, the results show the state has had some of the most robust enrollment activity in the country.
North Carolina’s enrollment figure exceeded Ohio’s total of 39,955, even though the Buckeye State has a larger total population, ranking seventh in the nation to North Carolina’s 10th.
And North Carolina’s enrollment surpassed that of other larger states, including Michigan, which had 75,511 completed signups, and Illinois, which had 61,111.
Both of those Midwestern states, however, have lower rates of uninsured residents than North Carolina does.
I think the legislature better get their act together and start harassing the navigators and in-person assisters. That strategy appears to be working in many states.
In North Carolina, the Department of Health and Human Services is not coordinating any enrollment activities. But Schmidt said it’s helpful that state government is not blocking the efforts of those who are attempting to get people enrolled, as is happening in other states.
Georgia, for instance, required navigators and other insurance counselors to obtain separate certification and licensing beyond the federal requirements, according to Schmidt’s Georgia counterpart, Dante McKay, the Georgia state director of Enroll America.
“North Carolina got up and running quicker than Georgia did,’’ McKay said.
And states such as Missouri, Montana, Texas and Florida have also created roadblocks for insurance-exchange navigators, in some cases restricting what navigators can ask and say in helping people to enroll, having them pay extra fees or restricting where they can work.
According to a study released last week by researchers from George Washington University, “In states with restrictive policies toward ACA implementation, health centers are confronting significantly greater outreach and enrollment challenges.”
The study listed Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Missouri, Montana Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin as “restrictive states.” North Carolina had more than 56 percent of projected enrollees signed up for insurance; of the “restrictive” states, all but Maine had far lower percentages of eligible enrollees signing up.
It looks like that crazy governor up in Maine is seriously screwing up, too. Before he knows it, he’ll be presiding over a Soviet Socialist Republic.
