Less than half of ND’s Obamacare enrollees have paid for their policies

By Rob Port | Watchdog.org North Dakota Bureau

BISMARCK, N.D. — The Obama administration is touting over 8 million enrollments in Obamacare nationally, and over 10,500 in North Dakota specifically, but some question how many of those policies are actually active.

In North Dakota, the answer to that question is less than half.

According to data from the North Dakota Insurance Commissioner’s office, the federal government is claiming 10,597 enrollments in health insurance policies offered through HealthCare.gov. But the three companies selling policies in North Dakota through the federal exchange — Blue Cross Blue Shield, Medica and Sanford — have reported to Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm that as of May 1 just 5,069 of the policies have been effectuated.

That’s less than 48 percent of the federal government’s enrollment total.

An effectuated policy is one that has at least one month’s premium paid for.

North Dakota appears to be below the national rate for effectuated policies. The Obama administration has refused to release figures for effectuated policies at the national level, but the House Energy and Commerce Committee released a report based on a survey of insurance providers indicating 67 percent of enrollees across the nation had paid for their policies.

Those numbers may actually be overstating the number of effectuated policies. That’s the case in North Dakota.

The figures from Hamm’s office for effectuated policies were significantly lower than the committee’s figures. For North Dakota, the committee’s survey indicated 35 percent of policies were not yet paid for, while Hamm’s numbers indicated 42 percent remain unpaid.

Hamm’s numbers represent effectuated policies through May 1, while the committee’s numbers represent effectuated policies through April 15.

You can reach Rob Port at rport@watchdog.org