The news is out: just under 27,000 people signed up for health care through Healthcare.gov in the first month. That’s a really, really low number. What’s equally striking to me is the other number: just under 80,000 additional sign-ups came through the state exchanges, for a total of just over 106,000.
Sweet mappage of the not-so-sweet new Obamacare enrollment figures. Take a look.
This chart really tells the story of the Obamacare numbers that were announced today – states that set up exchanges are cruising along; in states that didn’t, enrollment was at a virtual standstill in October. Really a must-read. Check it out.
When you’re the Mayor of the biggest city in Canada and you admit you smoked crack – or you think you smoked crack but you can’t exactly remember since you were so hammered when you smoked it – it’s really hard to top yourself. But Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto just keeps bringing it. New police reports of a St. Patrick’s Day bash in 2012 includes hookers, vodka, oxy, cocaine and well … just join me after the jump for more …
A lot riding on the Obamacare announcement that President Obama will be making at the White House at 11:30 ET. It’s not clear what “fixes” to Obamacare the administration can make to satisfy the current panic among Democrats in Congress that will at the same time not undermine the financial structure of health care reform. It’s a terrible position to be in, and it’s a direct consequence of the failures of … a website.
The administration is beginning to brief reporters on the contours of this so-called administrative fix to Obamacare. But the early reports are muddled, confusing and contradictory. It speaks in part to how complicated the law is and the number of interconnected moving parts. Politics doesn’t do complexity well.
The big issue is what the administration will do to “rectify” canceled plans. You have to put it in quotes because, again, this was not some unintended consequence of Obamacare. It’s how it was supposed to work. But whether you require insurers to maintain existing policies through 2014 or simply allow them to do so is a big distinction. Whether consumers have a say in the matter or it’s left to insurers is another key policy choice. There’s also the question of what legal authority gives the White House the power to dictate these fixes without congressional approval.
We’ll know more in the next few minutes. You can watch Obama’s announcement at 11:30 a.m. ET here.
On police reports that had Rob Ford cavorting with prostitutes, snorting coke, taking oxy, swilling vodka and telling one former staffer that “I banged your pussy,” Mayor Ford responded this morning: “Olivia Gondek said that I wanted to eat her pussy, I never said that in my life to her. I would never do that. I’m happily married. I’ve got more than enough to eat at home.”
Crack is one thing. But pussy takes it to a whole new level. You could say this about so many life situations.
But on the Rob Ford front, admitting he used crack and regularly gets hammered so bad he doesn’t even know whether he smokes crack didn’t lead Rob Ford to admit he might need some professional help. But denying he told a staffer “I wanted to eat her pussy” at an impromptu press conference this morning and saying he’s “got more than enough to eat at home” has finally forced Ford to say he needs medical help.