Obamacare Sees Record Enrollment

Facts

• On Wednesday, the US Biden admin. announced a record 15.9M Americans have enrolled in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for 2023 — a 13% jump from the same time last year.
• The ACA, also known as Obamacare, provides Americans with access to lower-cost health insurance and expands Medicaid.
• Around 3.1M of those who have signed up for this year are reportedly new to the ACA.
• The popularity of the ACA has been strengthened over the years by federal subsidies, which Congress passed as part of the American Rescue Plan in 2021. Those subsidies were extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Americans who haven’t signed up for the ACA still have until Jan. 15 to pay their premium and start their coverage on Feb. 1.
• Some states, however, have a later deadline of Jan. 31, including California, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Sources: Forbes, Cnet, FOX News, and CNN.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by American Independent. In his two years as president, Joe Biden has made several moves to make the ACA more attractive and to make sure more Americans are insured. Biden fixed the “family glitch” problem with the law, created and expanded subsidies to make the program more affordable, and strengthened campaigns to raise awareness for the program. It's no wonder enrollment is at record levels.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Daily Wire. Of course, ACA enrollment is up. After all, the threshold for qualifying for the subsidies is so high that the ACA has become a handout to the middle and upper class instead of an aid to the poor. More concerningly, as the subsidies continue to discourage people from rejoining the workforce, the US economy will continue to be stuck in a ditch.