More than half a million Americans applied for Obamacare coverage in the first four days of open enrollment, according to the Obama administration.
The numbers look encouraging for the administration, which has set a goal of 13.8 million applicants at the end of the sign-up season, although it’s too early to tell whether the Department of Health and Human Services will able to accomplish its goal of more sign-ups from younger, healthier adults.
“First 4 days of Open Enrollment —> More than half a million apps submitted thru @HealthCareGov for 2017 coverage. #GetCovered,” the Department of Health and Human Services’ media team tweeted late Sunday.
First 4 days of Open Enrollment → More than half a million apps submitted thru @HealthCareGov for 2017 coverage. #GetCovered
— HHS Media (@HHSMedia) November 7, 2016
The applications came in through healthcare.gov, the federal health insurance website set up under the Affordable Care Act. Enrollment began last Tuesday and runs through the end of January. People must sign up for a plan by Dec. 15 in order to have coverage that begins on Jan. 1, 2017.
Not all of the initial applicants will follow through and pay their premiums throughout the year to maintain continuous coverage. Around 10.4 million people were actually enrolled in marketplace coverage in any given month this year.
While initially plagued by technical problems when it launched in the fall of 2013, healthcare.gov has been dramatically improved for consumers. The challenge now for the administration is to convince healthier, younger individuals to sign up in order to improve the risk pools for insurers and tamp down rising premiums.
