Obamacare’s brisk start to 2018 enrollment continued for a third week, as sign-ups climbed to nearly 2.3 million and continued to outpace last year’s round, though not fast enough to expand the program’s pool of customers over the full season.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said HealthCare.gov, the federal portal that serves much of the country, counted just shy of 800,000 plan selections from Nov. 12 to Nov. 18 — a slight slowdown from the prior week.
Robust sign-ups show the program is holding its own, despite concerns that President Trump’s attempts to dismiss and dismantle the law would suppress interest.
His push to chip away at the law probably sparked early interest, analysts say, and his decision to cancel “cost-sharing” payments to insurers triggered an economic sequence that allowed subsidized customers to find better-than-normal deals on the exchanges.
“Another week of record-breaking enrollment numbers — almost 800k — shows demand continues to be strong for health coverage,” tweeted Lori Lodes, who promoted the law under President Obama.
Despite the impressive start, it’s becoming clear that Obamacare will struggle to bring in enough customers to broaden its risk pool and regain its economic footing, after insurers balked at the number of sicker consumers who joined in early rounds.
HealthCare.gov attracted 9.2 million sign-ups during last year’s enrollment period, which lasted three months — equating to about 100,000 sign-ups per day.
This year’s enrollment period is half as long, however, so daily sign-ups would have to double last year’s pace to keep up.
Through the first three weeks, sign-ups are averaging about 125,000 per day.
The exchanges typically see a burst of activity before the final deadline, which falls on Dec. 15 this year. However, Obamacare supporters fear that Mr. Trump’s lack of outreach and advertising might not spark the usual rush.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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