More than 1 million people selected health coverage on the federal Obamacare website through the second week of open enrollment, the administration said Wednesday in a snapshot that shows the number of plan selections nearly doubling since the first week’s tally.
Roughly a third of the 1,077,876 customers who picked a plan were new to HealthCare.gov, while 66 percent were returning customers who needed to re-up in plans for 2016.
“We’re pleased that people are getting the help they need and finding affordable options,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said.
Now in its third year, this round of Obamacare signups began Nov. 1 and lasts through Jan. 31.
Last week, the administration said 543,098 enrollees had picked a plan for the first time or renewed coverage they already had through the federal website, which serves 38 states without their own insurance portals under the Affordable Care Act.
These customers will have to pay their first month’s premiums to effectuate coverage and be counted as actual enrollees.
The government estimates that just 10 million Americans will sign up for plans on the health care exchanges for next year, a small increase over the 9 million-plus enrollees it attracted for 2015 and far short of the 21 million that budget analysts initially projected.
President Obama has said it will be harder than ever to find people who haven’t signed up during the first two years, and that reaching them is critical to making his signature law succeed.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.