A Health and Human Services department official said Thursday night that the start of enrollment in the Obamacare program for 2015 will be delayed until after the midterm elections.
Therefore, people who have their insurance plans cancelled in 2014 for non-compliance with ACA standards will not have to enroll in Obamacare’s insurance exchanges until after Democrats who supported the law can suffer the wrath of the voters the 2014 midterms. These folks get their insurance via their workplace, as the employer mandate was delayed a year and they have not yet seen changes to their health plan status.
The sign up period was originally set to begin on October 15 but now will start on November 15.
The HHS official termed the change “good news for consumers, who will have more time to learn about plans before enrolling.” Insurers would have until late May 2014 to submit applications to offer health plans during 2015, and the state and federal exchanges would get more breathing room to ensure their enrollment systems are ready for individuals.
Recently, several vulnerable Democrats like Rep. John Barrow (D-GA) and Rep. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have been subtly back tracking on their support of the ACA after the consequences of the law and disastrous roll out threatened their reelection prospects.
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