How is Affordable Care Act Implementation Going in New Jersey

Affordable Care Act implementation in recent months has seemed like a car on an icy road. Will it end up in a ditch or regain control and head down the road? Nearly four months into implementation it is still too early to know for sure.

But in spite of the disastrous launch of healthcare.gov, there are signs that the reform is finally gaining traction. We will not have a definitive idea of whether the ACA is meeting its goal of making affordable coverage available for another year or so (final 2014 coverage numbers and 2015 premiums will be the most telling), but early data released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides the most comprehensive snapshot to date.

The news is mixed. Enrollment though healthcare.gov accelerated rapidly in December, suggesting that the consumer-facing side of the website is finally working adequately. Open enrollment ends March 31, so there is still time to bring enrollment up to par. But the New Jersey marketplace enrollment numbers in the HHS report were not impressive. A total of 34,751 individuals in New Jersey had selected a marketplace plan by December 28. This is unimpressive in light of the more than one million uninsured in New Jersey.

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