Enrollment numbers: Half full or half empty. More on Cancellations.

1) The first set of enrollment numbers from HHS

106,185 Americans selected health plans in first reporting period of open enrollment

106,185 individuals have selected plans from the Marketplace, and 975,407 made it through application and eligibility determination, but have not yet selected a plan.  An additional 396,261 have been determined or assessed eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).  Total 1.5 million.  Everyone is saying how tiny that is.  Does not seem so tiny to me when you look at the total.  Of course,  much of that is from those States running their own systems.

In a separate link, 27 million unique website visitors, and 3 million calls to call centers.  See http://t.co/XO7iMYoKnW

This graph from Sarah Kliff provides an even more complete picture.

http://knowmore.washingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/the-great-obamacare-flop-in-one-graphic/

She emphasizes the negative.  I think it is a more positive picture.  Rachel Maddow also takes a more positive perspective on these numbers.

 2)
From Sarah Kliff, WaPo

Want to reverse Obamacare’s cancellations? Then you’re going to have to raise premiums.

 This article indicates a very complex issue. 

Here is what CBPP has to say about this.  I regard CBPP as one of the best liberal think tanks in the field.

House Bill to Expand "Grandfathering" of Individual-Market Plans Would Raise Premiums in Insurance Marketplaces and Undermine Market Reforms