The Health 202: Obamacare enrollment sprints toward the finish line
Obamacare enrollment is sprinting toward the finish line Friday faster than anyone expected  especially given  the Trump administrationâs  efforts to hobble it.
The pace of sign-ups still isnât fast enough for 2018 enrollment to reach 2017 levels  given the enrollment season is only six weeks this year instead of 12 weeks. At the end of last year âs  open enrollment  12.2 million people had signed up. As of yesterday  with just two days remaining  nearly 4.7 million had completed applications.
But the pace has still astounded pretty much everyone  considering  the Trump administration  canceled most of  its  advertising and whittled down funds for navigator groups.
 President Trump  speaks about the tax overhaul at the White House on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The energetic pace of sign-ups raises questions about the role of marketing in this space. Even without seeing TV or online ads  Americans with lower incomes are flocking to buy coverage â probably because they are getting larger subsidies than last year  making even more cheap plans available to them (this is because of a complicated side effect of  the Trump administration  cutting off payments for extra cost-sharing subsidies; I explained it in this edition of Health 202).
 Trump  does not want them to know. Please help get the word to them. â Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) December 13  2017
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is fighting  the Trump administration 's proposal to dramatically expand exemptions to the contraception coverage requirement for employers. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli  File)
--California lawyers urged a federal judge on Tuesday to block  the Trump administration  from allowing many more employers to be exempted from a requirement under the ACA to provide no-cost birth control coverage to female employees. New rules the  Trump  administration announced in October would broaden the number of employers that could opt out of the requirement by allowing them to simply cite religious or moral objections.
U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam in California was the first to hold a hearing on whether to issue a preliminary injunction on the rule. Washington  Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have also filed suits against  the administration  for  its  proposed rule change.
Maryland health exchange extends deadline to enroll in Obamacare Those seeking health insurance on the stateâs exchange will get an extra week to enroll  which is an effort by authorities to avoid a last-minute crush because of  the Trump administration  shortened the period to sign-up. Baltimore Sun
 President Trump  has catapulted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand into the spotlight:
Obamacare enrollment is sprinting toward the finish line Friday faster than anyone expected  especially given  the  [TGT] efforts to hobble it.
The pace of sign-ups still isnât fast enough for 2018 enrollment to reach 2017 levels  given the enrollment season is only six weeks this year instead of 12 weeks. At the end of last year âs  open enrollment  12.2 million people had signed up. As of yesterday  with just two days remaining  nearly 4.7 million had completed applications.
But the pace has still astounded pretty much everyone  considering   [TGT] canceled most of   [TGT]   advertising and whittled down funds for navigator groups.
  [TGT] speaks about the tax overhaul at the White House on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
The energetic pace of sign-ups raises questions about the role of marketing in this space. Even without seeing TV or online ads  Americans with lower incomes are flocking to buy coverage â probably because they are getting larger subsidies than last year  making even more cheap plans available to them (this is because of a complicated side effect of   [TGT] cutting off payments for extra cost-sharing subsidies; I explained  [TGT]  in this edition of Health 202).
  [TGT] does not want them to know. Please help get the word to them. â Andy Slavitt (@ASlavitt) December 13  2017
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is fighting  the Trump administration 's proposal to dramatically expand exemptions to the contraception coverage requirement for employers. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli  File)
--California lawyers urged a federal judge on Tuesday to block   [TGT] from allowing many more employers to be exempted from a requirement under the ACA to provide no-cost birth control coverage to female employees. New rules  [TGT]  would broaden the number of employers that could opt out of the requirement by allowing them to simply cite religious or moral objections.
U.S. District Judge Haywood Gilliam in California was the first to hold a hearing on whether to issue a preliminary injunction on the rule. Washington  Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have also filed suits against  the administration  for  its  proposed rule change.
Maryland health exchange extends deadline to enroll in Obamacare Those seeking health insurance on the stateâs exchange will get an extra week to enroll  which is an effort by authorities to avoid a last-minute crush because of  the Trump administration  shortened the period to sign-up. Baltimore Sun
 President Trump  has catapulted Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand into the spotlight: