Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Marilyn Tavenner repeatedlly told House Ways and Means Committee chair Dave Camp (R., Mich.) that the number of enrollees in Obamacare would not be known until mid-November. During their exchange, Tavenner tamped down expectations for the enrollment numbers.
“We expect the initial number to be small — I think you’ve seen that in our projections,” she said. Camp quipped that he could fit the total number of enrollees in his state of Michigan in his office.
Tavenner also skirted questions of whether or not she knew the figures, avoiding giving a yes-or-no answer.
“I understand that you’re not publicly releasing those numbers, but I’m asking do you have any idea of, on a weekly basis, how many people enrolled?” Camp asked at one point in his series of questions.
“Chairman Camp, we will have those numbers in mid-November,” Tavenner replied. She did indicate that CMS was aware of the number of applicants, but not of how many have enrolled.