So far, most reports from both the federal and state Health Insurance Marketplaces since their opening on Oct. 1 have focused on "accounts created," not on policies sold.
In fact, when asked point blank how many Americans had enrolled in health plans through the exchanges while appearing on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" Monday night, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sibeliuis responded: "Fully enrolled, I can't tell you, because I don't know."
She then went on to give the "accounts created" refrain: ""We are taking applications on the web, on the phone, we'll be giving monthly reports, but I can tell you we've had not only lots of web hits, [but also] hundreds of thousands of accounts created."
Even Stewart, whom one might expect to be a staunch Obamacare supporter, observed: "It's frustrating to have to defend something that is less than ideal, or that is functioning at what seems to be a level of incompetence that is larger than what it should be."