Interest is lively at deadline for Obamacare

WASHINGTON — A crush of sign-ups expected today on the last day of open enrollment for HealthCare.gov could help solidify the standing of Obamacare as an improbable survivor in the Donald Trump years.

In 36 states that use HealthCare.gov, Dec. 15 is deadline day for coverage that starts Jan. 1, while another 14 states and Washington, D.C., have later dates. Analysts and advocates who follow the annual insurance sign-ups say interest has gotten stronger with the coronavirus pandemic gripping the nation.

Also, the legal cloud hanging over the Affordable Care

Act seemed to start lifting last month when Supreme Court justices gave a skeptical reception to the latest challenge from the Trump administration and conservative-led states seeking to overturn the law in its entirety.

“The safety net is working,” said Chris Sloan of the consulting firm Avalere Health. When final numbers are released next year, Sloan says the ACA could surpass its current enrollment of 11.4 million people. “I think it’s just reflective of the need being greater for people who have lost their jobs and need to find some other form of health insurance,” he said.

The insurance markets offer taxpayer subsidized private plans to people who don’t have job-based coverage. Insurers cannot turn away customers with pre-existing medical conditions. Medicaid expansion, another component of the health law, covers about 12 million people.

Stephanie Burton, a solo practitioner lawyer from Kansas City, Mo., said she recently renewed her coverage for 2021. For about $150 a month, after subsidies, Burton is also able to cover two young adult children as they negotiate their transition to self-sufficiency in a shaky economy.