The news that more people signed up for ObamaCare in the first week this year than last year combined with skyrocketing private sector job growth under the ACA has sent the Republican Party into silence.
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HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell reported that more people got covered under the ACA during the first week of open enrollment this year compared to the first week in 2014, “In the first week of the third Open Enrollment, more than 540,000 people selected a health insurance plan through the HealthCare.gov platform and more than 1.15 million consumers were included on applications submitted to the Marketplace. Even more signed up through their State-based Marketplaces.”
Last year, 462,000 people selected plans in the first. HHS is warning people to be cautious about any year to year comparisons because the enrollment period started earlier and is longer in 2015, but enrollment is growing. People are coming back. Open enrollment is becoming a habit.
The news gets even better for Democrats as the ACA isn’t just expanding access to affordable health insurance, it is also fueling a jobs boom in the health care industry. The health care industry created 44,900 new jobs in October. For the year, the health care sector has created almost as many jobs in 2015 (407,000) than they did in 2013 and 2014 combined (410,000).
The Republican response to the increase in ACA enrollment has been silence. The Republican response to the fact that the ACA has been fueling private sector job growth has been to deny reality by claiming that the ACA is killing jobs and small businesses.
President Obama and Democrats have won. ObamaCare is not only working, but it is creating jobs and helping the economy. The question for 2016 isn’t if the country should keep the ACA, but how hard are Democrats willing to fight to keep and build on what President Obama has accomplished?
The silence of Republicans speaks volumes as the success of the ACA is sweeping across the country.
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
