Half of Georgia Obamacare Signups haven't paid

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Georgia insurers received more than 220,000 applications for health coverage in the Affordable Care Act’s exchange as of the official federal deadline of March 31, state officials said Wednesday.

Insurance Commissioner Ralph Hudgens, though, said premiums have been received for only 107,581 of those policies, which cover 149,465 people.

“Many Georgians completed the application process by the deadline, but have yet to pay for the coverage,” Hudgens said in a statement Wednesday.

March 31 was the official deadline for individuals to get insurance coverage or face a financial penalty under the ACA. Yet because of the deluge of last-minute shoppers, federal officials relaxed the rules for those who reported having trouble with the exchange, and gave them into this week to sign up.

Given that extra time, there have presumably been more Georgians both signing up and paying for their premiums in April. They would not be included in the figures released Wednesday.

The Insurance Department said it surveyed the five health insurers (Alliant, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana, Kaiser and Peach State) conducting business on the exchange to determine how many Georgians would be covered.

The number of Georgia applications – 221,604 – was a big jump in two weeks from the 177,668 that completed applications by March 15.

Almost all of those policies’ purchasers will receive a federal subsidy to afford the coverage, Hudgens’ office said.

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