海角大神

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are targeting a particular group of powerful Americans in their effort to boost enrollment in the Affordable Care Act: moms.

That鈥檚 right, moms. The White House figures no one is better able to cajole the so-called 鈥測oung invincibles鈥� into getting health care than their mothers, who have cared for them so long, and cleaned up after them, and packed them lunches, and did they ask for any thanks? Your happiness is thanks enough, that鈥檚 what they said.

Sorry, we got carried away for a second. So the Obamas are meeting today in the Oval Office with a group of mothers. Several of their visitors are heading outreach efforts designed to let friends, neighbors, and kids take advantage of their new health insurance options, according to the White House.

鈥淢oms have a unique role to play in helping young adults gain health-care coverage,鈥� says a White House official, speaking on background.

Young adults are important to the Affordable Care Act, aka 鈥淥bamacare鈥�, because they鈥檙e relatively healthy. Insurers need their premiums to balance out the costs of older Americans, who generally consume more health services.

If fewer young people than expected enroll, then premiums might rise in following years to cover the revenue shortfall. Then, even fewer young people might sign up, due to increased costs, and then the costs might have to rise again, and so on, creating a 鈥渄eath spiral鈥� for the law, according to critics. (The law does contain some financial stabilizers meant to fend this off.)

The White House is right to be concerned about young peoples鈥� reaction to the law so far. Evidence from some state exchanges shows they are not signing up in anticipated numbers. Perhaps worse, they are less likely to even know about the law and their ACA options than are older possible customers.

A recent Gallup poll found that only 63 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds are very or somewhat aware of the ACA, as opposed to 72 percent overall.

鈥淭his is very significant because younger Americans are the target of the Affordable Care Act, at least in terms of the necessity that they sign up for insurance to make the whole thing work,鈥� said Frank Newport, Gallup editor-in-chief, in .

That鈥檚 the shortfall moms are supposed to address, apparently 鈥� the information deficit. Many of them are good at that, aren鈥檛 they? They bug you and bug you to wear your coat out in the cold, and that works, doesn鈥檛 it? Except all those other kids showed up for school in a hoodie and shorts and laugh at you. We鈥檙e not bitter at all.

Anyway, America鈥檚 moms may be a good group to rally to the ACA鈥檚 defense, if they can be rallied. mothers to go the other way, and tell their kids to not sign up, due to potential rate shock from higher premiums under Obamacare, and the possibility of higher taxes to pay for the law鈥檚 subsidies in the future.

But it鈥檚 possible that the need to sign up young people has been exaggerated. That鈥檚 what a group of scholars from the Kaiser Family Foundation is arguing, in any case.聽

They鈥檝e run the numbers, and they figure that the pool of potential enrollees for Obamacare is about 40 percent young adults. If, say, the pool of actual enrollees is only about 33 percent young adults, then projected costs for insurers will rise by a (non-)whopping 1.1 percent to keep revenues in line, .

That's because "premiums are still allowed to vary substantially based on age," they say.

If young people represent only 25 percent of enrollees, projected costs for insurers would rise 2.4 percent, according to the KFF study.

鈥淧remiums are not as sensitive to the mix of enrollment as fears about a 鈥榙eath spiral鈥� suggest, particularly with respect to age,鈥� write the authors of the study, Larry Levitt, Gary Claxton, and Anthony Damico.