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A total of 10.2 million people signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act and paid their premiums by the end of March, the Obama administration said Tuesday, indicating the administration is on track to meet its revised goal. The administration had said last year that it expected to have between 9.1 million and 9.9 million consumers paid up and enrolled in insurance plans through state and federal online exchanges in 2015. (Armour, 6/2)

That is down from 11.7 million sign-ups recorded in February when the 2015 enrollment period closed. The tally still represents growth over 2014, when 6.3 million people were enrolled in health plans at the end of the year, according to updated 2014 figures also released Tuesday. The new data also underscore how many consumers rely on federal insurance subsidies made available by the law. About 85% of 2015 enrollees are getting assistance to buy coverage on the marketplaces. (Levey, 6/2)

About 13 percent of people who signed up for health insurance coverage in 2015 under the Affordable Care Act have fallen off the rolls, many because they failed to pay their share of premiums, the Obama administration said Tuesday. ... Nationwide, the administration said, the federal government is paying insurance subsidies in the form of tax credits to 8.7 million people, including 2.3 million in states that run their own exchanges. The average tax credit for those who qualified for financial assistance was $272 a month, the administration said. (Pear, 6/2)

That puts the nation finally within reach of coverage for all, but it may not last. The report from the Department of Health and Human Services comes as dozens of insurers are proposing double-digit premium hikes for next year, raising concerns about future affordability. And the Supreme Court is weighing the legality of subsidized premiums for millions of consumers in more than 30 states. A decision is due around the end of the month. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 6/2)

Although health researchers made similar projections earlier this year, the government figures released Tuesday provide the best available estimate of how many people would be at risk, said Larry Levitt, a senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. “These are the people we now know are receiving subsidies that would be lost if the court sides with the challengers,” he said. “The amounts are substantial.” (Sun, 6/2)

President Barack Obama’s administration had expected that some people would pick plans and then not follow through, and set a goal to have at least 9.1 million people paying for coverage bought through government-run marketplaces this year. “We’ve seen a historic reduction in the uninsured and consumers are finding the coverage they need at a price they can afford,” Sylvia Burwell, secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. (Tracer, 6/2)

The Congressional Budget Office had originally projected marketplace enrollment would reach 13 million in 2015, 24 million in 2016 and a “steady rate” of 25 million in 2017 as the program is fully implemented. That aggressive growth assumed a significant decline over the next two years in both employer-based insurance and non-marketplace individual coverage. But a subsequent HHS analysis found the CBO projections were unrealistic. (Pugh, 6/2)

An even more important figure released Tuesday was that 87% of enrollees on the federal exchange are receiving subsidies averaging $272 a month. This assistance may be in jeopardy. The Supreme Court will rule this month on whether Americans who enrolled in the 34 states without a state-based exchange can receive subsidies. If the justices strike down the subsidies, some 6.4 million people could lose their coverage if they can't afford the full monthly cost. (Luhby, 6/2)

More than 1.3 million Florida residents — the most of any state — could lose their financial aid for health plans under the Affordable Care Act if the Supreme Court rules against the federal distribution of subsidies later this month. New data released Tuesday by federal health officials in advance of the decision showed that Florida, which enrolled the most people in Obamacare, also stands to lose the most. (Chang, 6/2)

About 492,000 North Carolina residents and 171,000 in South Carolina had health coverage through the Affordable Care Act as of March 31, a new federal tally shows. That’s down from the number of sign-ups released shortly after 2015 enrollment ended in February. As expected, some people didn’t pay premiums or moved to different kinds of insurance. Nationwide, total enrollment stands at 10.2 million, compared with 11.7 million sign-ups. That’s still well above the 6.3 million enrolled at the end of 2014. (Helms, 6/2)