One of the Obama administration's biggest obstacles to getting people enrolled in new health insurance plans was the daunting educational outreach effort necessary to inform people of what in the heck ObamaCare even was. With such a massive overhaul of the nation's health care system, there was bound to be mass confusion, misinformation, and plain old ignorance. And indeed, even late last month, six in ten uninsured adults didn't even know the deadline to enroll in ObamaCare was only a few days away; only two-thirds knew the Affordable Care Act required people to get insurance or face a fine.
Spurred on by politically-motivated counter-narratives, the sheer extent of the confusion was incredible. (Remember those dreaded, though fictional, death panels?) Yet a weekend feature from The New York Times exploring how the swirling uncertainty suppressed ObamaCare participation among the poor offers one of the most astounding tidbits to date: Some poor people believed signing up for ObamaCare involved having microchips implanted in their bodies, like something out of a dystopian science fiction film.
Despite a terrible rollout, ObamaCare still managed to crack its 7 million enrollment goal by April 1. That said, it's worth wondering if enrollments would have climbed even higher had there not been so much confusion surrounding the health care law.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
'Knives are like rats in London – you're never more than a few feet away'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Not a good idea
Cartoons
-
Are private schools safe from Starmer?
Today's Big Question Schools would pay VAT under Labour government but party scraps plans to remove charitable status
-
FDA to re-evaluate effectiveness of common nasal congestion ingredient
Speed Read
-
A flesh-eating bacteria is growing in numbers due to climate change
Speed Read
-
CDC recommends new RSV vaccine for infants under 8 months
Speed Read
-
U.S. health agency advises easing federal marijuana restrictions
Speed Read
-
Medicare drug price negotiations start with 1st 10 drugs, pharmaceutical industry lawsuits
Speed Read
-
Air pollution may be increasing antibiotic resistance, new research suggests
Speed Read
-
Tick bites could cause an allergy to red meat, CDC says
Speed Read
-
The danger of drinking too much water
Speed Read
