The latest Obamacare countdown has begun.
With the Feb. 15 deadline approaching for applying for health insurance through a government exchange, the marketing department at the Department of Health and Human Services is cranking out alerts and warnings 24/7. The president and his administration have been hedging their bets on the final total, first estimating 13 million would sign up for coverage in the 2015 enrollment period, then scaling it back to around 9-10 million.
Now, the administration claims the 10 million mark is within easy reach. So far, about 7.7 million have applied for coverage through HealthCare.gov, the rest through state exchanges.
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With its latest goal pretty much attained, the administration is still pushing hard to see how high it can push the final total.
"Last chance: Enroll by February 15" screams the headline on the home page of healthcare.gov.
"February 15 is your last chance to enroll in 2015 coverage. Get started now," advises one of more than a dozen tweets broadcast today through the HHS twitter account.
"There are only four days left before the February 15 deadline to sign up for coverage," HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a blog post Wednesday on the HHS site. "Millions of Americans have already signed up for coverage nationwide. If you don't have health insurance, visit HealthCare.gov — take a look at the plans and financial help available. You may be surprised to learn that the security that comes with health coverage is within your reach."
Those who do not have health insurance will be subject to pay a fine upon filing tax returns. The penalties for remaining without coverage increase this year, to $325 per adult from $95 in 2014.
And so it goes. Tick tock. The countdown to the deadline for 2015 coverage winds down.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
