Obamacare is the largest healthcare expansion in 50 years, and you are the reason why the ACA has been so successful.
The LA Times collected some numbers on the historic nature of the ACA:
• At least 6 million people have signed up for health coverage on the new marketplaces, about one-third of whom were previously uninsured.
• A February survey by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found 27% of new enrollees were previously uninsured, but newer survey data from the nonprofit Rand Corp. and reports from marketplace officials in several states suggest that share increased in March.
• At least 4.5 million previously uninsured adults have signed up for state Medicaid programs, according to Rand’s unpublished survey data, which were shared with The Times. That tracks with estimates from Avalere Health, a consulting firm that is closely following the law’s implementation.
• An additional 3 million young adults have gained coverage in recent years through a provision of the law that enables dependent children to remain on their parents’ health plans until they turn 26, according to national health insurance surveys from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• About 9 million people have bought health plans directly from insurers, instead of using the marketplaces, Rand found. The vast majority of these people were previously insured.
• Fewer than a million people who had health plans in 2013 are now uninsured because their plans were canceled for not meeting new standards set by the law, the Rand survey indicates.
Rand also found that the percentage of Americans without health insurance has dropped from 20.9% last fall to 16.6% today.
None of this would have happened without you. Democrats in Congress passed a law, the president signed it, and the Supreme Court upheld it, but it was millions of Americans who made the law a success. Republicans and their allies have tried for years to convince people that they didn’t need healthcare. They did everything in their power to scare people into not going on the website. They tried to terrify people into not signing up.
It could have worked. The Republican tactics might have been successful if it wasn’t for the millions of people who decided that the GOP was wrong. You decided not to listen to the Republicans. You stuck it out when the website struggled through its initial rollout.
When you couldn’t sign up in October, you came back. You kept trying, because you wanted access to affordable healthcare. The status quo was unacceptable. You were the change that you could believe in. President Obama and the Democrats provided the vehicle, and the American people drove it home.
Today is a historic day that belongs to everyone who fought hard for affordable healthcare.
This victory belongs to you.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
Well said Jason Easley! By the way I really like your articles. Always well thought out and insightful. Please sir, keep up the good work.
This is a victory for healthcare advocates. There is still a long way to go, but we are in the right direction. This was made possible by the voters who elected and re-elected President Obama, 60 democratic senators, and 219 courageous democratic representatives. History has been made. The Patient Protection and Affordable Healthcare Act of 2010 is the law of the land and will stay here permanently. Also, since this is a progressive website, would it be possible to acknowledge Cesar Chavez day. Feliz dia de Cesar Chavez.
Is is something that Democrats, in solidarity, should be proud about, should brag about and stop running away from in the election cycle.
Also, do not allow, I mean, do not ever allow the GOP and their tea party manure spreaders forget how they gleefully damaged the nation and wasted 24 Billion dollars. Half of that could have financed SNAP. yet they cut SNAP and refused to extend unemployment benefits.
Remember, remember the 4th of November
The Tea Party Treason and Plot
We see no reason
Why this treason
Should ever be forgot.
Vote blue, 2014.
It seems sole proprietors whom have a group plan are being dumped into individual pool as well (Thanks, UnitedHC). So much for being able to “keep your plan”. As plans expire for such folk, they too will be shopping for Health Care this year. See you in May, HC.gov. UHC was a rip-off anyway.
Its been a long fight against the luddites but it was worth it.
Feliz dia de Cesar Chavez mi amigo from New Mexico Tex-Mex.
We Made History! Congratulations, to those who were uninsured now insured, and to those who are insured can have better and affordable healthcare insurance.
To all those whom are uninsured, and refuse to get insured, join the rest of us and become a part of help making history.
Congratulations! PBO making history again.
Muchas gracias, amigo. :)
It really puts it in perspective when you see the lines of people on television and all they want is health care. How cold repunants hearts are. GOBAMA!
Breaking news. Hallelujah, so much for the GOP’s “The sky is falling ACA Death Spiral” and much to their political chagrin. Beyond the wildest of progressive expectations, the ACA just blew through 7 million on the health exchange’s sign ups. Plus another 14 million getting insurance, taking us to maybe 21 million with new health insurance or at least insurance that was worth something in the way of real insurance as opposed to what they had before. And that is only right now. That’s just the beginning folks, this is for real and health reform is on a roll, a great day for America:
Independent analyst Charles Gaba just said: “OK, I’ve updated the “official projection” to 7,080,180 just for the hell of it, but I’m not trying to pretend that I had this thing nailed to the decimal point; my last real projection was between 6.9M – 7.0M, so I’m willing to divide 7,000,000 into whatever the final number is to find out how far off I am.
Believe me, I’d be perfectly happy if the fi…