From Sarah Ferris at The Hill:
Signups for ObamaCare are surging in southern states, with increases of nearly 100 percent in some states compared to last year, federal health officials said Wednesday.
Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Mississippi have each seen 80 percent more signups compared to last year, Deputy Administrator Andy Slavitt said…
“Real simply, I think word is spreading. I think word of mouth is spreading really positively as neighbors tell neighbors how easy it’s been to get coverage this year,” Slavitt told reporters in a briefing Wednesday.
Could it be that former Texas Gov. Perry is wrong? (oh my!)
“Texas has been criticized for having a large number of uninsured,” he said, “but that’s what Texans wanted.”
But as Ferris reports, over 1 million people have signed up in that state alone. And that’s despite their rejection of Medicaid expansion.
We don’t know what the Supreme Court is going to decide on the case of King v Burwell this summer. But what we can surmise is that most of those 1 million Texans are taking advantage of federal subsidies offered on their federally run exchange. I’d also guess that most of them are not the kind of political junkies who pay attention to the partisan wrangling over Obamacare. But you can count on the fact that they are going to be pissed off if they lose their insurance and/or subsidies.
We already know how Justices Scalia and Thomas are likely to vote when the Supreme Court makes its decision. But you have to wonder if Kennedy and Roberts are paying attention to this kind of news – and what it signals.
