Quote:

 

http://www.politico.com/story/2015/02/sylvia-matthews-burwell-texas-obamacare-115205.html

Sylvia Mathews Burwell goes deep in the heart of Texas for Obamacare

The top Obamacare official is making inroads deep in enemy territory.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell has spent more time selling the health care law in Texas than virtually anywhere else. And while many of the politicians here may hate the law, the Obama administration strategy is clear: If it can get upwards of 1 million Texans covered, it can prove the law is a success even in the most unfriendly climates. The more people who sign up, the harder it might be — even for the staunchest opponents — to justify killing Obamacare.
[Take away the FREE MONEY!]

[...]

Over the past year, much of the work in Texas has been driven by local community groups and city or county officials, many of them Democrats. And during this enrollment season, their efforts have paid off. As of last week, just over 1 million residents had selected insurance plans or re-enrolled on the federal marketplace. Texas alone accounts for 13 percent of the 7.75 million people nationwide who have signed up or re-enrolled through HealthCare.gov.

But Burwell sees a lengthy to-do list ahead of her, including making sure new Obamacare enrollees actually use their coverage, ensuring there is access to providers and reforming the delivery system.

“I am very focused on the here and now, but I think there are a lot of important things that we need to work on and get done in what for me is less than two years,” she said.

A major issue looming on the horizon is tax season, when consumers will face Obamacare’s individual mandate penalty and tax subsidy reconciliation for the first time — a moment that Burwell acknowledges could be difficult because of confusion or ignorance of the law.

It could be so problematic that the administration is now considering holding a special enrollment period around tax filing season to assist people who learn in April that missing Sunday’s deadline will mean a penalty on their taxes next year. HHS plans to make a decision soon.

“Right now, we’re focused on getting through the next couple of days,” Burwell told POLITICO. “We want to think through that. We will be back with an answer yes or no, we will be clear about it, within two weeks.”

Another potential crisis that she’s reluctant to discuss publicly is the King v. Burwell case, which the Supreme Court will hear in early March. At risk are Obamacare’s tax subsidies for more than 5 million people. The challengers — backed by several Republican lawmakers, including Cruz and Cornyn — argue that the law allows subsidies to go only to residents of states that set up their own health insurance exchanges.

Texas, of course, is not one of those.

Burwell has repeatedly declined to say whether the administration is preparing for a decision that would block the subsidies. But even 1,500 miles away from Washington, the issue is not far from her mind.

“Being here in Texas just reinforces what I’ve said many times,” Burwell said Friday. “Which is, I really can’t imagine that members of Congress would vote on something that would say people in New York get this, this financial assistance that is in the form of a tax benefit … and these people don’t. I find that very hard.”

kbp

Feb 18 2015, 07:55 AM

One of loads of headlines on the topic...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/about-11-4-million-covered-under-health-law-1424217516
About 11.4 Million Enrolled Under Health Law
Sign-ups exceed government expectations, as deadline is extended for some

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Sheila Jackson Lee trumpets ‘great news’ about ACA

LTC8K6

Feb 18 2015, 02:30 PM

kbp

Feb 18 2015, 07:55 AM

One of loads of headlines on the topic...

http://www.wsj.com/articles/about-11-4-million-covered-under-health-law-1424217516
About 11.4 Million Enrolled Under Health Law
Sign-ups exceed government expectations, as deadline is extended for some

But there were 30 or 40 million uninsured...

And what, exactly, does 11.4M enrolled mean?

Is it 11.4M who never previously had health insurance?

I'll guess no.

LTC8K6

Feb 19 2015, 10:59 PM

...The Obamacare tax is apparently now considered a special circumstance..

Quote:

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/us/politics/as-health-exchange-sign-ups-rise-so-do-stakes-for-court.html

As Health Exchange Sign-Ups Rise, So Do Stakes for Supreme Court

The Obama administration said Wednesday that 8.6 million people in 37 states had selected or renewed health plans through the federal insurance marketplace, and that most of them would suffer if the Supreme Court blocked premium subsidies for consumers in those states.

That group is part of the 11.4 million people who President Obama said the day before had signed up in the enrollment period that ended on Sunday. Consumers using the federal marketplace accounted for three-fourths of the total.

Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the secretary of health and human services, said she did not know how many of the 11.4 million people were previously uninsured. But she said that more than 85 percent of those obtaining insurance in the federal marketplace qualified for premium subsidies in the form of tax credits.....

kbp

Feb 21 2015, 08:22 AM

I never understood why there was a limited signup period.