By: Gage Arnold and Dargan Southard
After a less-than-spectacular introduction, it appears the Affordable Care Act – despite its low enrollment numbers — is gaining traction in Tennessee.
According to enrollment data released by the Department of Health and Human Services on Feb. 12, Tennessee now has 59,705 enrollees for Obamacare, equating to 9.4 percent of residents per capita in the state based off 2010 census population information.
In comparison, Tennessee’s 9.4 percent per capita stacks up similarly with Georgia – 10.4 percent per capita – and Alabama’s – 9.2 percent per capita.
Tennessee also ranks 14th out of U.S. states in total individuals who have selected a marketplace plan in the latest data. Only Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida ranked higher than Tennessee in total enrollees out of Southeastern states.
Maybe most impressive regarding the numbers, however, is the growth percentage Tennessee has seen over the past month.
Tennessee’s growth rate has been 64.7 from January to February, ranking them near fellow Southern states Alabama (53 percent), Georgia (72.8 percent) and South Carolina (71.3 percent).
The February data indicated the U.S. has seen a 3 percent growth in the 18-34 age range for marketplace plan selections.
Tennessee matches the national average with 25 percent of its enrollees falling under the 18-34 age range.
Alabama, 28 percent, and Georgia, 27 percent, both rank above the national average and are firmly located in the upper tier among U.S. states in the 18-34 enrollees bracket.
On a broader scale, the numbers indicate Obamacare’s enrollment numbers reached nearly 3.3 million in February.
This comes on the heels of President Barack Obama’s urge to get 7 million enrolled in the program by March 1.
Looking at the exponential growth of the numbers, if the U.S. enrollment rate continues to grow following January’s growth rate, the enrollment total could reach at least 5 million by March 1.
After unveiling the healthcare system on Oct. 1, glitches abounded and many had difficulty logging onto and registering for the healthcare program.
Those issues have since been resolved, evident by the 50 percent growth rate enrollment saw between February – 2.2 million enrollees – and February – 3.3 million enrollees.