The Affordable Care Act, or ACA, commonly referred to as ObamaCare, was supposed to cut Illinois’ eligible, uninsured adult population by half by the end of March 2014. The state achieved only half of its goal.
About one-quarter of Illinois’ eligible uninsured adults have obtained health insurance coverage under the ACA. The state’s original goal was to move half of its 1.3 million uninsured adults1 into the ranks of the insured by early this year.
The law’s single-biggest impact has been to shuffle around those who previously had insurance, rather than dramatically reduce the ranks of the uninsured. The state fell woefully short of its goal despite enormous resources directed toward the enrollment effort, as well as a federal mandate for individuals to obtain coverage.
Federal taxpayer funds for “outreach” and marketing of Obamacare in Illinois totaled almost $155 million. When the state’s share of the potential $832 million tab for the federal ObamaCare website is included, federal taxpayers spent more than $1,000 in “acquisition” costs for every previously uninsured Illinoisan who obtained private health insurance through the health insurance exchange.
The Obama administration has been relentless in claiming that ObamaCare has been a success. It was sold with promises to substantially reduce the number of uninsured. That is how it should judged. And, by that standard, it is failing to deliver.