Only 6 enrolled in Obamacare on first day: Documents


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Those looking for Obamacare enrollment numbers might have gotten some answers Friday, and they are not pretty.

"Apparently only 6 people, one, two, three, four, five, six. That's across the country!" (Via WNYW)

Talk about a slow start — SIX people were able to enroll for health insurance on day one.

That’s according to notes from an Obama administration meeting, detailed in documents Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee just released.

It's obviously another black mark for the law's rollout — coupled with weeks of headlines slamming HealthCare.gov website glitches.

By the morning of October 3rd, those notes indicated a little less than 250 enrollments had gone through. Not much better, obviously. In any case — no official numbers have come from the Obama administration, despite the best efforts of lawmakers grilling Health and Human Services Secretary

REP. TIM MURPHY (R-PA): "How many people have tried to enroll, how many people have enrolled, did you ask that question?"

SEBELIUS: "We do not have any reliable data around enrollment… I don't want to turn over anything that isn't confirmed and reliable." (Via C-SPAN)

Critics have been implying that the administration was withholding enrollment numbers to avoid embarrassment. (Via Fox News)

But the numbers will come — Sebelius promised confirmed data later in November. What critics will really be on the lookout for are the demographics.

That's important because the success of the law will depend in part on participation by younger, healthier people to balance out costs. (Via PBS)

Administration officials have already said they expected a slow start — but keep in mind the exchanges had a goal of seven million enrollments by March 1st. To put that in perspective, that would require 39,000 enrollees a day. (Via CBS)

- See more at newsy.com.

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