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Late Breaking News: Employer Mandate Delayed For Employers with 50-100 Employees
February 11, 2014
Enrollments edge higher in January, HHS numbers reveal
February 14, 2014
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Universal coverage won’t be realized for some time, report finds

Though the goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may be to provide insurance benefits to everyone, it will likely be a “long process” before that goal is reached, according to the conclusions of a new report.

Researchers from the nonpartisan public policy organization RAND recently determined that because the ACA uses an “opt-in” approach to insuring people – where individuals actually have to be proactive about securing a plan for themselves – universal coverage likely won’t transpire any time soon.

“These modest early enrollment numbers are not a huge surprise, and are roughly in line with analysts’ expectations,” the report stated, citing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ numbers that 2.1 million people had enrolled in an ACA qualified health plan as of December. “What they underscore is that the voluntary path to universal coverage will be a long one, and may plateau well shy of the goal.”

HHS set a goal of insuring approximately 7 million people by March 31, which has been widely reported.

On CBS’ “Face the Nation,” Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told host Bob Schieffer that 10 million people had health insurance thanks to the ACA. However, The Washington Post reported the statistic cited was inaccurate.

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Erin Woulfe
Erin Woulfe
Erin Woulfe likes to write about things that matter. Keeping her finger on the pulse of what’s happening in the public sector world, she blogs about the latest legislative news and employee benefit trends that affect our school, city and county clients. She’s been with NIS since 2002. “I love connecting to our clients and providing them with the tools they need in order to administrate their plan,” says Erin. “Whether that be materials to educate their employees on certain benefits, how to effectively communicate change within an organization or just providing tips and how-to’s to help them make their job easier.”

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