Meet 2 'young invincibles' still undecided about Obamacare

Obamacare has been one of the most talked about policies in recent American history. From “death panels” to the Supreme Court to the birth control mandate to the government shutdown to the website’s disastrous launch, it’s been a mainstay of the national debate for years. But with less than a week until the deadline to sign up for 2014 coverage, some people are still undecided about whether or not to sign up.

Or at least, they’re actively avoiding thinking about it. America Tonight gathered together four "young invincibles" Monday -- the exact kind of people the Obama administration is desperately trying to recruit as it tries to meet its goal of 6 million enrollees. And two of them were still conflicted.

“It concerns me a bit,” Kevin Brunell admitted, about not having health insurance. “There’s always the proverbial bus that you could get hit by. But I do my best not to get hit by buses.”

Brunell is a real estate agent in Washington D.C., functionally self-employed and has been without health insurance for four years. The 30-year-old said he does his best to be healthy. He eats a plant-based diet, goes to yoga a few times a week and has declined invitations to go snowboarding. 

He knows that he probably should sign up for health insurance under Obamacare (his financial adviser recommended it). “Eventually I’ll sign up, I’m sure. It just hasn’t necessarily been a priority,” he explained, adding that he hasn’t really done any research about it. “I don’t know how much insurance costs. I haven’t looked into it.” 

Brunell went on the federal Obamacare website on two occasions. The second time, he said he couldn’t log in. (If Brunell can prove this, he could get an extension beyond the Monday deadline). The first time he said he saw a plan costing $200 a month, and thought “that’s too much money.” He explained that he was told that he should set aside half a day to look at all the options properly, and “it’s not high on my list of one way to spend an afternoon.” That’s half a day he could spend selling houses or hanging out in the park. 

“It’s a bit of a roll of the dice, I suppose,” he added.

Fanna Gebreyesus, a graduate student in art history at American University in Washington D.C., chimed in. “What if something does happen? What if I do get hit by a bus? What if something I couldn’t prevent happens?” she said. “That’s going to destroy my life, you know what I mean? It’s not going to be half a day, it’ll be maybe half a year, who knows.”  

She was playing devil’s advocate. Gebreyesus went on the Obamacare website once, after she learned that her current health plan was cancelled a few months ago. “I won’t pretend to know the nuances of it, but they’re just like, ‘This is null and void. You’ve got to go online,’” she explained.

So she made an account, and then never went back. “Just the jargon of it all, the prices,” she said. “It’s not something I really want to think about.”

Gebreyesus said she’s not proud to admit it, but she really is avoiding the whole thing. Her parents texted her about the deadline, but it just made her anxious. When the website first launched, she said she heard that the process was terrible and a labyrinth. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have that in the back of my mind and kind of using it as an excuse. Apologies to Obama, I’m sure it’s fine now.”

Also in the back of her mind, she said, is the fact that she didn’t see a doctor once this past year, when she did have insurance. “Am I going to pay for it, and am I not going to go?” she said.  “Obviously, that’s partly me being irresponsible about my health.”

The president has been scrambling to get young and healthy people like Brunell and Gebreysus to sign up under Obamacare, making cameos on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and Zach Galifianakis’ Web series “Between Two Ferns,” enlisting the help of star athletes and moms. And the effort appears to be working – a little. Watching “Between to Ferns,” Brunell said that he did think more about the country’s new health insurance law. His major takeaway: “The website is working again.”

Gebreyesus ultimately said that she would definitely get insurance, just whether it would be this week before the deadline was the “million-dollar question.” But when it comes to last-minute enrollees, Gebreyesus certainly wouldn’t be alone. On Monday, more than 1.1 million people visited the federal Obamacare website – the second most ever. Charles Gaba, who’s made some stunningly accurate predictions on his Obamacare tracking blog ACAsignups.net, projects the finally signup tally will be 6.22 million.

“I’m a little ashamed I haven’t made up my mind,” said Gebreyesus. “If there was ever the 11^th hour, it’s now.”