Initial ‘Obamacare’ enrollment numbers very low

Early estimates of the number of people who have signed up on the new health insurance marketplaces trickled in this week, with enrollment figures far below expectations.

At least 49,100 people have enrolled through state-based online exchanges as of Nov. 10, according to Avalere Health, a consulting firm that tracks states’ health and insurance data.

That’s about 3 percent of the target population in those states, the firm reported.

“Enrollment in new programs begins slowly and often takes several months to build momentum,” said Dan Mendelson, CEO of Avalere Health.

What’s not clear is how many people have enrolled in 36 states where the federal government is running exchanges. The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post report 40,000 to 50,000 people have purchased private insurance policies on the new system, but those numbers could not be verified.

The Department of Health and Human Services is expected to release those figures this week, possibly Friday, according to a person familiar with the data. 

Meanwhile, more than 440,000 people have signed up for Medicaid under the new health system, according to Avalere. 

A Health and Human Services spokeswoman could not be reached for comment on either estimate, though officials have said they expect those enrolling in Medicaid and private health insurance to be more balanced beginning in 2014. 

Last week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the Senate Finance Committee that initial enrollment estimates on the exchanges are expected to be “very low.”

“We are not where we need to be,” she said, noting continued website problems that the administration says it hopes to resolve for the most part by end of November. 

Nearly half a million people were expected to enroll in October, according to an internal memo cited last week by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich. The Obama administration was not immediately available for comment on the memo. 

An estimated 7 million people are expected to sign up by the end of March 2014, when open enrollment ends, but website glitches have hamstrung those efforts. If those glitches persist, they could undermine enrollment goals.

And unless young and generally healthy consumers sign up, the cost of buying individual insurance plans is expected to rise.

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