海角大神

Oct. 1 鈥� just six days away 鈥� is a double deadline. The government will shut down if Congress doesn鈥檛 approve (and President Obama sign) new funding, and enrollment begins for the uninsured to sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), a.k.a. Obamacare.

But if the government shuts down, does that also delay implementation of Obamacare?

In a word, no, says David Simas, deputy senior adviser for communications at the White House.

鈥淚n terms of the outreach, we are good to go,鈥� says Mr. Simas, speaking at a breakfast Wednesday sponsored by Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank in Washington.

鈥淭he marketplaces will be stood up,鈥� he says, referring to the government-run online 鈥渆xchanges鈥� where people can shop for a plan and potentially qualify for a subsidy or even free coverage. 鈥淭he folks on the ground are ready to go. The 8,000 community health centers are staffed up and ready to provide the guidance. The commercials on television are going to be ready to go, up and running.鈥�

The ACA is funded mostly through multiyear and mandatory spending, so a failure to agree on annual appropriations wouldn鈥檛 touch its funding. But that hasn鈥檛 stopped opponents of the law from trying to kill off the program鈥檚 funds legislatively 鈥� and also reaching out to key constituencies, such as the Koch-brothers-funded Generation Opportunity campaign aimed at getting young adults to pay a fine rather than sign up for health insurance.

In addition, President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden have been, and will continue to be, involved in outreach efforts aimed at informing the public about the subsidies available for people. Tuesday night, Mr. Obama and former President Bill Clinton talked health care at a Clinton family foundation event in New York.

Polls show a high percentage of the public doesn鈥檛 understand the law. But Simas is confident that over time, as people go to Healthcare.gov and plug in their information, they will see the benefits. 聽

But don鈥檛 look at the signup numbers right after Oct. 1, he says. 聽

鈥淥ctober will be light for enrollment,鈥� Simas says, since benefits don鈥檛 kick in until Jan. 1. 鈥淣ovember will be a little bit better. December, as people know [they] can now sign up and get coverage in a few weeks, will be better.鈥�

He expects a dropoff in January and February, with another increase in March right before the enrollment period ends.

And what about the proposal to delay implementation of the individual mandate for a year? Not a chance, he suggests.

鈥淚t would result in 11 million fewer people having coverage in 2014,鈥� and it will increase premiums,鈥� he warns. A delay would also be 鈥渄estabilizing鈥� to the 鈥渢ens of millions of folks with preexisting conditions who frankly have delayed long enough.鈥�

The law bans insurers from refusing to insure people with preexisting conditions.