Another wrinkle to Obamacare rollout: not enough young people

President Obama speaks Monday at Obamacare summit, (Pool photo by Ron Sachs/Abaca Press/MCT)

When the post-rollout review is completed, the list of Obamacare rollout mistakes is likely to be extensive.

Bad website. Horrible "you can keep your policy" messaging. No clear person in charge, before during and after the rollout. Incredible hubris. Distracting shutdown/debt ceiling battles. Putting a technical project in the hands of the political experts, instead of technical experts. Failing to take cues from the states that have had successful rollouts.

Add failing to market to the young and healthy, even in the states where the rollout has been smoother than the federal effort.

A Wall Street Journal story today says the early signups are older than expected, which by the laws of economics would mean that more expensive older customers could drive up prices for everyone. Insurers call this a bad risk pool.

But the numbers demonstrate a real-world fallout from the digital snafus: Less-healthy customers are more likely to persevere through technical obstacles to gain coverage, insurers say. Younger, healthier customers who feel less need for insurance-but whose widespread participation is important to the financial success of the system-could be quicker to give up.

The average enrollee age at Priority Health, a Michigan insurer, has ticked up to age 51 for newcomers, from about 41 years old for plans offered for the current year, said Joan Budden, chief marketing officer. Arise Health Plan, Wisconsin's largest nonprofit insurer, said more than half its 150 signees are over 50, a higher proportion than expected, while declining to be specific on its target age.

I'll add another possible factor to the mix-- the economy. If jobs for young college  graduates - even those with substantial debt - were falling out trees, people working for  startups that do not offer healthcare policies would have the disposable income and upbeat frame of mind to buy health insurance. When I was that age, I took a chance and didn't buy health insurance because it would have made a major dent in a meager just-out-of-school paycheck. Was it smart? No, it was a risky decision, but a calculated choice.

There is a demand and a need for health care, but the mix that allows federal exchanges to work is at best a work in progress.

Follow @JimMitchell18

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