Enrollment in Obamacare plans slowed during the first half of January, after a sign-up surge during the holiday season.
About 8.8 million Americans in the 38 states using the federal website healthcare.gov have chosen health insurance plans as of Jan. 16, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Wednesday.
That means only about 200,000 people have bought plans this month, the slowest rate of enrollment growth since signups began Nov. 1. Officials are hoping for a final surge during the final week and a half of Obamacare’s third enrollment season.
“We know we have more work to do and as we count down to the Jan. 31 final deadline, we’re focused on making sure consumers understand that they must act soon to find affordable health coverage and avoid the fee for choosing to not have health insurance in 2016,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said.
The numbers released by CMS don’t include the 12 states and District of Columbia using their own health insurance marketplaces.
When those numbers are added in, however, the Obama administration has exceeded its goal of 10 million signups this year. Earlier this month, officials said 11 million people have signed up in total, although that doesn’t necessarily mean they have paid their first month’s premium.
