North Carolina: BCBSNC reports 85% QHPs paid

BCBSNC reports 232,000 QHPs sold on the ACA exchange...but that's out of about 273,000 total enrollees; they've removed the other 15% who haven't paid their premium yet:

The Blue Cross enrollments reflect insured customers who signed up from October through May 1 and are still paying premiums. About 15 percent of customers who signed up never paid a premium and are not included in the 232,000 figure, Burke said. 

So, fine: 85% for Blue Cross of NC. As it happens, NC sold a total of 357,584 policies total, which means BCBSNC sold over 76% of the total.

Now, it's conceivable (but not likely) that 100% of the remaining 84,500 enrollees snapped up by other companies did pay their premiums, but even so, that would only bring the paid percentage up to about 88.5%. So, I think it's safe to say that for North Carolina, 85% is a reasonable "How many have PAID???" figure for the full state until more solid numbers are released.

For  a couple of months now, I've been assuming that the final "how many have PAID???" tally will end up being around 93%. As the solid data comes in, it's starting to look like I might have overshot the mark a bit, which is why I've backed off my placeholder "rule of thumb" to 90%. I still think the final national tally could end up above 90%, but until we get a more recent update from California (they reported 85%...back on 4/27), New York, Texas or Florida, the needle is unlikely to move one way or the other much.

Of course, even at 85%, NC is still a good 14% higher than the silly GOP House Committee claim of 71% for the state. That report will never get old, I tell ya...