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March 31st is the Affordable Care Act’s bench mark; where most Americans must have health insurance or face a fine.  The Obama Administration stated last week that he will not extend open enrollment beyond the target date set.

Last month the president stated, “We now have well over 3.5 million people who have signed up and are getting insurance through the marketplaces for the first time.” Continuing, he remarked, “That does not count the close to 7 million folks who have signed up for Medicaid because of the law that you passed.”

The question of the number of who have enrolled is misleading.  The real question that needs to be asked is who has enrolled and continued through the entire process and actually paid their first premium.

We do not have actual numbers and the administration has not been transparent in how many have paid premiums.

This is an important fact as the Affordable Care Act was predicated on the young and healthy to pay for the elderly and less healthy individuals to maintain the solvency of the system.

This is why the Affordable Care Act’s required the cancelation of millions of health care plans last fall deemed unacceptable by the new law.

This is an important factor for the solvency of the entire health system.  With the cancelation of the health care plans last fall, now individuals are given a two year reprieve, but this is problematic for the law.  The cancelation of substandard plans was needed to cover less healthy people. 

Last month Vice President Joseph Biden stated, “It would be a good start for the federal health care law if 5 million to 6 million people sign up by the end of March.”  This falls far short of the numbers of seven million needed as reported by the Congressional Budget Office and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sibelius mentioned in an interview last September.

Now add the low completion rate of the entire enrollment process as this adds to a train wreck in the coming months.

The administration routinely touts the enrollment numbers but one has to begin to ask how reliable are these numbers?

This will be extremely problematic as March 31st is the end of the open enrollment period where individuals must have health insurance or face tax penalty; the question no one asks is what happens if the number don’t materialize?

One has to remember that in the Affordable Care Act is a stipulation in which health insurance companies can receive a bailout from the government to maintain their solvency.

What is your plan B if the numbers are not reached?

Previously I have written many articles on this subject and it may seem redundant, but this question needs to be asked now and not wait until after when the system is crashing around us. 

Let’s ask this now and not wait until after March 31st!