The White House has proudly proclaimed that thanks to the president’s health care law, 6 million Americans now have “quality, affordable health coverage.” But what does that really mean?
CNN Money’s Tami Luhby explains how this figure is “somewhat misleading”:
– 2.1 million Americans signed up for private health insurance through the federal and state exchanges through the end of December.
– 3.9 million people learned they’re eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) in October and November.
The squishiness lies in the Medicaid number. The 3.9 million figure includes people who were already on Medicaid and are just renewing, as Marilyn Tavenner, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services noted in a blog postlate last month. So not all of these folks have coverage due to Obamacare.