In May 2013, the Congressional Budget Office projected that enrollment in the Affordable Care Act’s health care insurance program would need to reach seven million in order to be successful. This number became the point that many in the administration — including Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who administers the act — publicly touted as their marker for success, as well, though key members of the administration argued a lower benchmark.
“We may not get to seven million, we may get to five or six, but that’s a hell of a start,” Biden admitted in February during a Democratic fundraiser in Minneapolis.
Due to a last-minute enrollment spurt, the number of Americans enrolled in the new health care scheme has exceeded six million, according to the White House. The White House reported that on Wednesday alone, HealthCare.gov saw more than 1.5 million visitors and the Health Insurance Marketplace call center received more than 430,000 calls. The six million tally matches the Congressional Budget Office’s revised estimates, which were adjusted due to the government shutdown and technical issues concerning the HealthCare.gov website.
With extensions in place for the March 31 deadline — including an extension into mid-April for those who had difficulty enrolling and an extension until the end of May for battered spouses who were previously banned from receiving tax subsidies — the final tally for the 2014 enrollment period may reach or exceed the seven million mark.
Despite the seeming success of the initial rollout of the health care law, the push toward reaching enrollment goals has been roundly mocked and scorned by the Republicans, who strongly favor a free-market solution to health care and would like to see the president’s signature legislation dismantled as a means of tarnishing the entire Democratic Party.
Over the last few weeks, the mockery was ever-present. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) spokesman Don Stewart summed up an Associated Press article as, “White House needs something close to a miracle to meet its goal of enrolling 6 million people by the end of this month,” while Rep. Jim Renacci (R-Ohio) tweeted, “Shockingly low (and perhaps inflated) #Obamacare enrollment numbers further evidence that the law is a widespread failure. RT if you agree.”
Of greater concern are the challenges being heard in court. On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood Specialities’ claims that the federal government cannot compel them to adhere to the Affordable Care Act’s birth control mandate. The companies argue that this would violate their right to religious freedom and create an undue burden.
Also on Tuesday, the D.C. Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in Halbig v. Sebelius, in which the question of whether tax subsidies for health insurance purchased through the marketplaces can be distributed through the federal exchange is being answered. Section 1311 of the Affordable Care Act states that health insurance subsidies are only available through a state-established exchange. Sensing that the high number of states opting not to establish a state exchange would create de facto discrimination against those seeking insurance through the new health care law in those states that would otherwise not have access to the premium subsidies, the IRS changed the rules for the tax credit to make it more accessible.
While what the IRS tried to do is honorable, the plaintiff argue that it is illegal. Should the appeals court rule toward striking down the IRS ruling, it would effectively undermine the Affordable Care Act by making it inaccessible to more than half of the nation.
Despite reaching its early goal numbers, the fight for the Affordable Care Act seems to have just begun, with four major challenges to the law currently being heard in court, a Republican Party waiting for any opportunity to destroy the law and — according to recent polling — a public both increasingly out of touch with news about the new health care law and exhausted with the political bickering about it.