Biden Touts Health Care Coverage In Minn. Visit
MINNEAPOLIS (AP/WCCO) — Vice President Joe Biden said Wednesday that 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, an acknowledgement that enrollments might fall significantly short of the Obama administration's unofficial goal of 7 million.
Biden, who was attending a private fundraiser in Minneapolis, made a brief unannounced stop at Moose and Sadie's in the Warehouse District. There, he visited with a handful of women who have signed up for coverage. Open enrollment under the federal law ends on March 31, after which people without insurance are subject to federal tax penalties.
Biden acknowledged the rocky rollout of the administration's Affordable Care Act and the difficulty people have had in signing up. Minnesota has been among the numerous states, along with the federal Healthcare.gov website, to experience rampant technical problems that hampered enrollment.
"We didn't want this to start off as shaky as it did," he said. "But it's complicated."
In its original projection, the administration said 7 million Americans would have to be signed up by the end of March for the insurance pool at the heart of the law to function properly. Biden acknowledged that "we may not get to 7 million, but if we get to 5 or 6 million that's a hell of a start."
The administration's original projections were that 7 million would sign up during the open enrollment period, which started last year. Signing up enough individuals — especially younger, healthier people — is critical to keeping premiums low for everyone.
The pace of sign-ups has picked up substantially, with about 1 million enrolling in January — the first time the administration met its monthly target. But there's still a lot of catching up to do from the initial months.
In total, nearly 3.3 million had enrolled through the end of January. That's about 75 percent of what the administration had hoped to achieve by that point in the open enrollment period.
Biden's office said the four women picked to meet with Biden either signed up for insurance under the federal law, or have worked as a navigator assisting others in the signup process. In the brief conversation, Biden related several health crises in his own life, including a serious car accident and a brain aneurysm, saying he appreciated the sense of security knowing he could count on his insurance.
Dressed in a dark suit with a dark scarf around his neck, Biden briefly worked the room at Moose and Sadie's. His voice was hoarse, and he was difficult to hear over the coffee shop's din. He did speak up when he spotted a woman with a San Francisco Giants cap.
"They allow you to wear that in Minnesota?" he said.
Biden was attending a private Democratic Party fundraiser at the restaurant Bachelor Farmer. Owned by the sons of Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, the restaurant hosted a dinner for President Obama in 2012.
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