Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obama Announces 11.4 Million People Enroll In Marketplace Plans
Some 11.4 million Americans picked health plans through HealthCare.gov and state-run insurance exchanges during the official sign-up window for insurance under the federal health law, the White House said Tuesday. The announcement, made through the White House Twitter account, followed a relatively smooth enrollment period that saw few of the technological problems that hobbled the online exchanges that were launched in the fall of 2013 as part of the Affordable Care Act. (Radnofsky, 2/17)
The Obama administration signed up about 11.4 million people for health coverage during Obamacare鈥檚 second enrollment period, exceeding its modest enrollment goal with a final-day rush. The White House trumpeted the figures Tuesday evening via a video posted on social media. In it, HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell gives President Barack Obama the preliminary estimates of who 鈥渟igned up or re-enrolled鈥 from the start of enrollment Nov. 15 to its conclusion Sunday. (Haberkorn, 2/17)
About 11.4 million Americans are now signed up for private health coverage, thanks to the Affordable Care Act, the White House said Tuesday. "We just got great news today," President Obama said in a video posted on the White House's Facebook page. "In the final day (at the original enrollment deadline Sunday) we had more consumers sign up than we have ever had," said Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. (O'Donnell and Ungar, 2/17)
About 11.4 million Americans have signed up for private health insurance coverage through Obamacare exchanges by the official end of the law's second-ever enrollment period, the White House announced in a video Tuesday night. The announcement indicates the Obama administration will beat its own 2015 enrollment goals after a much quieter sign-up season this year. But the announcement also comes just weeks before the Supreme Court will hear a case challenging the legality of premium subsidies provided through the nearly three dozen states relying on HealthCare.gov for enrollment. (Millman, 2/17)
The White House celebrated the latest numbers as evidence of the success of the health law, which was adopted in 2010 without any Republican votes. 鈥淭he Affordable Care Act is working,鈥 Mr. Obama said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 working a little bit better than we anticipated 鈥 certainly, I think, working a lot better than many of the critics talked about early on.鈥 More than a million people selected health plans in the last nine days of the latest open enrollment period. (Pear, 2/17)
But that preliminary estimate 鈥 11.4 million people 鈥 comes with a couple of asterisks: The final number could grow because the administration is offering a grace period for people who started applications 鈥 but couldn't finish them 鈥 before last Sunday's official deadline. They have until February 22, this coming Sunday. ... The final number could shrink if consumers who've enrolled for 2015 coverage don't follow through by paying their share of premiums. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/17)
President Obama trumpeted the success of his signature healthcare law on Tuesday, releasing a video on Facebook that boasted that 11.4 million people who have signed up or re-enrolled in Obamacare in 2015. ... While the number of people signed up for healthcare under the Affordable Care Act has given the White House reason to celebrate, the administration has reason to worry about whether the news will remain positive for Obamacare. With the April 15 tax deadline approaching, an estimated 6 million Americans are expected to to face a penalty for not enrolling in a healthcare plan. ... Even more troubling for the healthcare law, the Supreme Court will soon begin hearing arguments in the King v. Burwell case, which will decide the ultimate fate of the program's federal subsidies. (Knowles, 2/17)
Approximately 11.4 million people have signed up for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act this year, President Obama announced Tuesday, signaling a strong conclusion to the federal health law鈥檚 second enrollment period. ... More still may enroll if the Obama administration decides to hold a special enrollment period after April 15. The administration has been considering doing so to allow people who had to pay a penalty for not having health coverage in 2014 get insurance this year and avoid a second year of penalties. (Levey, 2/17)
More than 11 million people signed up or renewed for health insurance on the state and federal exchanges this year, the White House announced Tuesday. (Fox, 2/17)