The number of people who have purchased health coverage in Washington state has risen to 325,000 — an increase of 47,000 compared with before the state exchange’s open-enrollment period began Oct. 1.
.... the Office of the Insurance Commissioner released new data Thursday painting a clearer picture of the individual health insurance market — coverage bought independently of an employer.
“Today’s numbers represent the first significant growth in the individual health insurance market that we’ve seen in four years,” said Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, in a statement. “One of the underlying goals of the Affordable Care Act, and what made it so meaningful, was its potential to improve the health insurance market for the people who buy their own coverage.”But wait until the last paragraph in the story;
The OIC did not have information about how many of the 325,000 people in the individual market had previous coverage or had to find new coverage because their prior health plan was discontinued under the ACA.Which is the first information that we'd really need, to evaluate the success or failure of Obamacare, isn't it?
That, and whether or not these new insurance policies actually expand the ability of people to get health care when they need it, of course.
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