Nearly 12 million people signed up for Obamacare through the end of last month, according to top administration officials who took a victory lap on Monday.
Of the 11.7 million that signed up through healthcare.gov or state-run exchanges as of Feb. 22, more than half are new customers, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said during a White House event Monday celebrating open enrollment figures.
The figure is more than the 11.4 million initially reported after open enrollment ended on Feb. 15. The period was extended until Feb. 22 to give people already in line time to finish their applications.
The latest totals inch the administration closer to the Congressional Budget’s Office’s estimate of 12 million enrollees during open enrollment. The administration already beat its own estimate of 9 million signups.
Burwell also took the opportunity Monday to express confidence that the administration will uphold millions of subsidies in a hotly contested legal case.
“The law is clear,” she said. “The text and structure of the law state individuals in every state are eligible for tax credits.”
Plaintiffs in the case King v. Burwell, which the court heard oral arguments on last week, beg to differ. The plaintiffs, spearheaded by the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, say the law allows subsidies only for residents in state-run health exchanges, and not 36 states covered by healthcare.gov.
Burwell has told members of Congress there is no backup plan in case the court strips subsidies, which will affect nearly 7.7 million individuals.
More people could be added to the ranks, as the administration will reopen enrollment from March 15 to April 30 for citizens who must pay the individual mandate penalty for not getting health insurance.
