Report: About 11.7 Million Americans Signed Up Or Re-Enrolled For Obamacare Coverage
Federal officials on Tuesday provided the sign-up tally as of Feb. 22 for insurance coverage under the health law. News outlets note that 86 percent of the enrollees received subsidies, which are the subject of a legal challenge currently pending before the Supreme Court. If the court rules against the health law, it would strip away subsidies in states that rely on the federal government's marketplace, affecting as many as 7.7 million people.
Reuters:
Nearly 11.7M Signed Up For Obamacare Health Insurance: HHS
Nearly 11.7 million people have either signed up or re-enrolled for insurance coverage under the U.S. healthcare reform law, more than the 9.1 million predicted by the Obama administration, health officials said on Tuesday. As of Feb. 22, about 8.8 million signed up in one of the 37 states that use online exchanges operated by the federal government and 2.85 million were in the 14 states, and Washington, D.C., that operate their own exchanges, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement. (Abutaleb, 3/10)
McClatchy:
Marketplace Enrollment Hits 11.7 Million For 2015
Nearly 11.7 million Americans chose a health plan or were re-enrolled in coverage through the nation’s health insurance marketplaces during the 2015 marketplace enrollment period, the Obama administration reported Tuesday. (Pugh, 3/10)
CNN Money:
Obamacare's Second Round Attracts More Americans
Obamacare's second enrollment period, which ended in February for most Americans, went far more smoothly than the first, which was marred by technical trouble at the kickoff. (Luhby, 3/10)
The New York Times:
86 Percent Of Health Law Enrollees Receive Subsidies, White House Says
The Obama administration said Tuesday that 11.7 million Americans now have private health insurance through federal and state marketplaces, with 86 percent of them receiving financial assistance from the federal government to help pay premiums. (Pear, 3/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Three States Would Be Hardest Hit If Supreme Court Upends Health-Law Subsidies
Florida, North Carolina and Texas would be among the states hardest hit if their health-insurance subsidies are struck down by the Supreme Court. Those states had the highest number of consumers who were eligible for tax credits when selecting a plan on the federal HealthCare.gov website, government data show. Affordable Care Act enrollment figures released Tuesday give the most up-to-date snapshot of which states would bear the brunt of any loss of subsidies. Nearly 7.7 million people who selected a plan using the federal site qualified for an average tax credit of $263 a month to help pay for premiums, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. (Armour, 3/10)
Los Angeles Times:
More Than 85% Of Obamacare Enrollees Qualify For Subsidies
Reliance on government aid is higher in states where the federal government operates insurance marketplaces than in states like California that run their own systems. The legal challenge being considered by the Supreme Court would strip away subsidies in states that rely on the federal government, affecting as many as 7.7 million people, according to the report. In many of those states, consumers are getting subsidies that top $300 a month on average, according to the data. (Levey, 3/10)
The Associated Press:
Federal Report: Health Insurance Aid In Doubt For Nearly 8M
Nearly 8 million people could lose up to $24 billion a year in health insurance subsidies in a Supreme Court case threatening President Barack Obama's law, according to a government report released Tuesday. The estimates by The Associated Press show what's at stake in the case. Health overhaul opponents argue that subsidies are illegal in some three dozen states where the federal government took charge of running the health insurance marketplaces, or exchanges. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 3/10)
Looking inside the numbers, news outlets also reported on some of the demographic information about who obtained coverage as well as state-specific numbers -
USA Today:
More Young People But Fewer Minorities Pick ACA Plans
More than 4.1 million people under age 35 picked Obamacare health insurance plans so far in this open enrollment period, a small increase compared with the end of the 2014 period, the Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday. And HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell on Monday said nearly 11.7 million people enrolled in plans on state and federal exchanges through Feb. 22. Those numbers run through the end of a one-week enrollment extension for those delayed by issues with Healthcare.gov and its call center. Next week, a new tax-related extension takes effect for those facing penalties for not having insurance last year. (O'Donnell, 3/10)
The Seattle Times:
Federal Data Put State's Exchange-insurance Rolls At 160,000 People
As government officials on Tuesday touted the enrollment of 11.7 million Americans in state and federal health insurance exchanges, the clear subtext of their announcement was the essential role that price subsidies played in the signups. The subsidies — which lowered the average monthly price of health insurance to $101 on the federally run exchanges — are at risk of vanishing depending on the upcoming decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. (Stiffler, 3/10)
Connecticut Mirror:
Enrollment Rose, But Age Distribution Stayed The Same In CT Exchange
Although enrollment in private health plans sold through Connecticut’s health insurance exchange rose by 37 percent this year, the age distribution of customers was virtually unchanged, according to data released by the federal government Tuesday. (Levin Becker, 3/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Exchange Enrollment Sees Limited Progress With Youth, Minorities
Nearly 11.7 million consumers have now elected or were automatically re-enrolled into plans on federally operated or state-based insurance exchanges, while the percentage of under-35 enrollees was essentially unchanged from the prior year, said HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and other agency officials Tuesday. (Dickson, 3/10)
The Dallas Morning News:
Texas Insurance Enrollees Continue To Climb, Despite Federal Challenge
Even as they await the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, federal health officials continue to praise the people who signed up for insurance coverage, including a record number of Texans. (Jacobson, 3/10)
The Kansas Health Institute News Service:
350,000 Kansans And Missourians Signed Up For Healthcare.gov Coverage
Twice as many Kansans and Missourians signed up for health insurance this year under the Affordable Care Act compared with the first enrollment period last year, new figures released Tuesday show. More than 250,000 Missourians and nearly 100,000 Kansans selected plans on the federal insurance exchange, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Smith, 3/10)
