Obamacare Enrollment Plunges in Five States
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- Ohio, Oklahoma, Arizona, South Carolina and Minnesota absorbed the steepest Obamacare enrollment losses after Congress let enhanced pandemic-era subsidies expire, according to state-by-state federal CMS data.
- Ohio and Oklahoma each shed nearly a third of their enrollment year-over-year, while Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Louisiana also lost more than a quarter.
- National enrollment fell roughly 3 million — about 13% — since last year, per a Department of Health and Human Services report.
- HHS blamed the drop on improper or fraudulent "phantom enrollee" sign-ups, but health policy experts counter that many would-be enrollees simply failed to pay their first ACA premium after subsidies lapsed.
- The 2021 pandemic-era enhanced subsidies passed by Democrats disproportionately benefited red states, especially those that have not expanded Medicaid, according to prior Axios analysis cited in the piece.
- Republican midterm candidates now face pressure to address the losses, which are concentrated in deep-red strongholds like Oklahoma and South Carolina.
Why it matters: Five states — including deep-red Oklahoma and South Carolina — lost up to a third of their Obamacare enrollment after pandemic-era enhanced subsidies expired, driving a 13% national drop of about 3 million. HHS blamed fraud, but outside experts point to premium non-payment, leaving GOP midterm candidates in now-coverage-poor red states to defend an outcome that runs against their usual ACA script.
