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At USF visit, Obama official talks up health care law

 
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, left, spoke Monday at the University of South Florida in Tampa. At rear is U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell, left, spoke Monday at the University of South Florida in Tampa. At rear is U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.
Published Nov. 18, 2014

TAMPA — The Obama administration official overseeing the health insurance marketplaces said Monday that she's pleased with how the federal website is working so far and confident more than 9 million Americans will sign up for coverage by February.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell appeared at the University of South Florida's Tampa campus just two days after healthcare.gov opened for its second year of business. She said more than 100,000 consumers submitted applications through healthcare.gov on Saturday, though she declined to say how many of them had actually enrolled in a plan. About 7 million enrolled in marketplace plans for 2014.

"We know there will be issues. Whenever we hear about something, we track it down quickly. But we're excited about where we are today," Burwell said, standing with USF officials, Enroll America workers and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa.

Burwell's predecessor, Kathleen Sebelius, made multiple trips to Florida during the last enrollment season, including to USF, which this year received one of the nation's largest federal grants to help consumers sign up for insurance: $5.4 million.

Sebelius spent much of her early appearances in Tampa trying to explain why the glitchy healthcare.gov was locking consumers out of the marketplace. Burwell did not have to deal with such problems Monday, so she focused on the law's accomplishments from the first year.

One of Burwell's key points: Federal tax credits can help make coverage more affordable. More than 90 percent of Floridians who bought 2014 marketplace plans qualified for help.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge saying those subsidies are being provided unlawfully in three dozen states that rely on the federal marketplace, including Florida. If the challengers prevail, people receiving subsidies in those states would become ineligible for them, destabilizing the law.

Burwell said Monday that the White House is confident the court will side with its argument — that Congress did not intend to treat states differently on the subsidy issue. She said she didn't believe it was something that consumers signing up for coverage next year need to worry about. "Right now, what I think is important for everyone to know is that there's been no change," she said.

Burwell said the administration will continue to push states to expand Medicaid eligibility to more poor adults, another key part of the health care law. In Florida, conservative Republican leaders in the Legislature have blocked efforts to expand Medicaid. Newly re-elected Gov. Rick Scott has expressed support for expansion but has not pressed the issue with legislators. Burwell said she has not talked to Scott but is ready to talk with him and all governors.

Standing next to Burwell was Andrew McKinnon, a 32-year-old USF graduate student in epidemiology and public health. He lost his insurance coverage when he returned to graduate school, so last year he went to healthcare.gov to see if he could afford coverage. He found a Humana silver plan, which costs him $105 a month after his subsidy.

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McKinnon used the plan only once this year, when he got pneumonia, and was happy with how it worked. He said he plans to shop around again. "While I'm a young guy, and think of myself as healthy, you never know," he said.

While at USF's Marshall Center, Burwell visited a "navigator lab," where enrollment experts were helping consumers learn about options. She spoke with Veronica Morton, a senior biology major at USF who is considering graduate school. Morton is on her parents' plan now, but was working with a navigator to see if she could get a better deal.

"All of my friends are graduating, so we're trying to figure this out now," Morton said.

Contact Jodie Tillman at jtillman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Follow @jtillmantimes.