Health care exchange sign-ups surge
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About 11.4 million Americans signed up for health care plans in federal and state-run exchanges during the 2015 open season, a 70% increase compared with actual exchange enrollment last year just prior to the 2015 sign-up period.
“The Affordable Care Act is working,” President Barack Obama said Tuesday, referring to the 2010 law that created the exchanges.
“Everywhere I go around the country, I'm meeting individuals who come up and thank me. … It really reminds me why we did all of this,” President Obama added.
That 11.4 million figure could go even higher. The figure refers to plan selections made as of the end of Feb. 15, the official end of the 2015 open season. However, the federal government, which runs exchanges in 37 states, as well as many states, like California, with their own exchanges, have extended plan selection through Feb. 22 for those who started but did not finish plan selection before the Feb. 15 deadline.
What actual enrollment in the exchanges will be, though, is less clear. That is because some individuals who selected plans may not actually enroll because they didn't pay the first premium.
In addition, during the year, many enrollees will drop plans after getting job-related coverage.
In fact, last year, the administration disclosed that exchange enrollment hit 8 million in May. But in November, enrollment had fallen to 6.7 million, with much of the decline due to enrollees not paying required premiums.
Still, the latest plan selection figures make it likely that the administration will meet its 2015 exchange enrollment projection — 9.1 million to 9.9 million — made last November.
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At the main public library in downtown Washington, Anthony Cook, 33, who runs a startup dog-walking business, signed up for a health plan Friday through the D.C. exchange, less than 72 hours before the Feb. 15 open-enrollment deadline. He had tried twice before but was unsuccessful because of technical problems with the exchange website.
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