On Wisconsin! Less than 50 sign up for Obamacare

The Wisconsin insurance commissioner's office has surveyed every insurance company that is participating federal exchange approved to write insurance in Wisconsin and has found "minimal participation". How bad is "minimal participation"? you may wonder. Oh, about 50.

The number of people who have signed up for individual plans in Wisconsin through the online exchange is "under 50," according to Dan Schwartzer, deputy commissioner at OCI.

There are 12 insurance companies participating in the federal exchange for Wisconsin but another 13 companies that chose not to because of the uncertainty that the subsidies will actually be paid. From the McIver News Service;

First of all, an insurer has to pay a 3.5 percent fee to be listed on the exchanges. Then there is a lot of trust involved in the subsidies. An individual would only pay a portion of the premiums to the insurer, and then the rest would come in the form of subsidies from the federal government through the IRS.
"There is some risk for the insurers on the exchange that the subsidies will flow properly," Schwartzer explained. "Some felt it was worth it, others didn't."