Chad Henderson says he hasn't paid yet. | POLITICO Screen grab ACA poster boy didn't sign up

The Georgia college student who basked in national media attention after claiming he and his dad were among the first to enroll in Obamacare is changing his story.

“I never said that I had actually purchased a plan,” said Chad Henderson, 21, who was thrust into the national spotlight after announcing Tuesday on Twitter that he had “enrolled in Obamacare.” He told POLITICO Friday he had been online to shop in the federal exchange, but had never completed the final steps of getting in the health plan.


Henderson, an Organizing for Action volunteer and supporter of President Barack Obama, said he was “sorry for this confusion” and never intended to mislead the numerous media outlets, including POLITICO, that contacted him to hear his story. “I’ve received so much flak for something that has been misinterpreted,” he said.

Questions arose after Reason’s Peter Suderman contacted Henderson’s father, Bill, who owns a shaved ice company in Chattanooga, Tenn. He posted a story outlining discrepancies.

( PHOTOS: 25 unforgettable Obamacare quotes)

Henderson became an instant poster-boy for Obamacare after claiming to have worked through the glitch-ridden system to obtain coverage for himself and his father. He tweeted his experience and offered to recount his story to reporters, who were looking for proof that someone — even one person — had made it successfully through the entire exchange sign-up process. HHS had said people had enrolled but given scant details.

After telling his story on Twitter and Facebook, Henderson received social media props from Enroll America and top Obama administration officials. Henderson sought some media attention, reaching out first to local outlets on Twitter. Enroll also touted his story as an early example of the promise of Obamacare exchanges.

Henderson says that what he actually did was submit demographic and income information to the system, leading him to a menu of insurance options. But he said he and his dad have yet to make a final selection, although he’s interested in a bronze-level plan with low premiums.

“I said that I have chosen a plan. I just have not had the time to go through the payment process,” he said. “No, we have not paid for a specific plan. We have, to my understanding, enrolled in the marketplace.”

Henderson was set to be a speaker on a press call hosted by Enroll America, but the group instead turned to a Florida man, Daniel McNaughton, 22, who also said he had enrolled. And McNaughton sent POLITICO a screenshot of the healthcare.gov page confirming that his application status was complete.