Start at about 5:50 on this video, when the panel is discussing the winners and losers for 2013. Answers up to this point were predictable, including Pope Francis and more. But the last panelist gets it right.
(Drum roll.....)
And the Revvie Award for the biggest winner in 2013 goes to Uninsured Americans.
Here are your final counts for 2013 enrollments:
- 2.1 million people have enrolled in private insurance plans.
- 3.9 million people will receive health care through the Medicaid expansion
That Medicaid number doesn't include millions shut out because of Republicans' cruel decision not to expand Medicaid eligibility in their state. If those expansions had been made, the original projection for overall enrollment would have exceeded the original 7 million predicted by the White House.
If you haven't yet enrolled, we're now on a rolling set of deadline dates. To have coverage beginning February 1st, you must enroll by January 15th. Roll those dates forward for March 1st and April 1st eligibility. Open enrollment closes on March 31st.
Because of the late surge in enrollments, insurers are working overtime to get their internal records set up and cards sent out. If you haven't received a card, don't worry. You will get one. Just be sure you pay that bill as soon as it arrives, without delay.
Yes indeed, the biggest winners were the uninsured, because as of today, millions of us now have access to the healthcare system and expectations for longer, healthier lives.