It turns out that Chad Henderson, the 21-year-old student from
Georgia who managed to enroll in Obamacare through the exchange website,
didn't actually sign up, according to his father.
Bill Henderson, Chad’s father, said that neither he nor his son had
signed up for Obamacare, according to Reason.com’s Peter Suderman.
“Bill Henderson told me that both he and his son were interested in
getting coverage, but that he had not enrolled in any plan yet, and to
his knowledge, neither had his son,” Suderman said.
“He also said that when they do enroll, getting the most coverage for
the least money would be the goal, and that he expects that he and his
son will get coverage under the same plan.”
Chad, who was a volunteer for President Obama’s former re-election
campaign Organizing for Action, added a life milestone (typically used
to highlight births and weddings) on his Facebook page on October 1 that
“today, on the opening day of ‘Obamacare,’ me and my dad enrolled in it
and got quality, affordable health care insurance for the first time.”
But Chad’s dad says that’s not true.
“We haven’t decided which plans to enroll in yet,” Bill Henderson said.
The elder Henderson also said that he and his son would “probably go on the same plan, more than likely.”
Chad also tweeted on October 1 that he “enrolled in #Obamacare just
now!” and included the twitter handles of several local news sites.
While the younger Henderson claims he signed up for “affordable”
insurance via the exchanges, his initial statements to the Washington
Post seemed to imply he felt his coverage was too expensive.
“It was a little more than I was expecting,” he said initially.
The news that Chad may not have signed up for Obamacare hit some journalists pretty hard.
“Either Chad is lying or the Henderson family needs to work on its communication,” tweeted Ezra Klein of the Washington Post.
Sarah Kliff, who wrote the original Chad Henderson story, said that she had left a message with Chad for comments on his dad's remarks, but hadn't heard back.
Chad’s information was originally provided to Kliff by Enroll America
and selectively provided to other journalists at other publications.
Update:
Chad spoke to Kliff over the phone and said that while his dad was correct, Chad did not believe he had lied.
"I said I enrolled in the marketplace," Chad said. "I never said I chose a specific plan."
But he did say he chose a specific plan. He told Kliff on Thursday that he had chosen a plan that had a $175 premium.
Chad is also now saying that he enrolled but his father didn't. But
on Tuesday, Chad wrote on his Facebook that "me and my dad enrolled."
Chad said today that he "had assumed that I never said I purchased a
plan or enrolled in marketplace." But on his Facebook page he said he
and his father "got quality, affordable health care insurance."
Chad couldn't even keep his story straight while talking to Kliff:
"I said I enrolled in the marketplace. I never said I chose a specific plan. But the number I gave you, the $175 or $200 or whatever, that is the plan I am choosing." (emphasis added)
Chad said he was not backing down on his comments and that "I have not misled anyone."
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