The only good news there is that New Mexico, one of our poorest states actually improved.

Ohio and Oklahoma each lost nearly a third of their Obamacare enrollment since last year, with other states' coverage dropping more than a quarter, according to the state breakdown, first reported by the Associated Press.

Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi and Louisiana also had deep coverage losses.

Nationally, Obamacare enrollment fell by about 3 million since last year, or about 13%, according to a separate federal report from the Department of Health and Human Services last month.

That report attributed the drop-off to improper or fraudulent sign-ups by "phantom enrollees." But health policy experts have pointed to large numbers of people not paying their first ACA premium following the expiration of subsidies.

The pandemic-era enhanced subsidies that Democrats passed in 2021 have overwhelmingly benefited red states, especially those that haven't expanded Medicaid, according to analysts.

The Republicans have landed on the lie that this is all because they've uncovered fraud in the system. Dr. Oz says that they know there's rampant fraud because they've found that many of the accounts show no claims during the year.

I'm not kidding.



He apparently thinks that means that there are no people in the country who don't see a doctor until they need to. I guess we're all supposed to be running to the doctor all the time, whether we're sick or not. And if we're healthy, we don't need insurance. Or something. He's obviously an idiot.

And to think he was a cardiologist before he became a reality TV star and Trump toadie.

The truth is obviously that a lot of people can no longer afford to have health insurance because Trump has tanked the recovery, and then the Republicans refused to extend the subsidies. I don't know how many of the people who lost their insurance voted for Trump, but if they did, they did it to themselves. Too bad about all the other people who didn't make that choice.