Nearly 7.2 million Americans have enrolled in Obamacare or had their plans renewed via healthcare.gov, the Obama administration said Wednesday, with three and a half weeks remaining before the signup deadline.
President Obama briefly mentioned that people are benefiting from the Affordable Care Act in his State of the Union address Tuesday but didn’t note that the deadline to enroll is Feb. 15.
“Time is running out,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said. “If you don’t have health coverage, visit healthcare.gov or contact the marketplace call center to learn about your options and the financial help that is available.”
The 7.2 million doesn’t include enrollees in the 14 states running their own exchanges.
HHS has said it expects between 9 million and 9.9 million people nationwide to enroll in health coverage this year through the insurance exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act. That goal is considerably lower than an estimate by the Congressional Budget Office that 13 million people would enroll.
In his State of the Union speech, Obama noted that about 10 million uninsured Americans have gained coverage since the law was passed, and he threatened to veto any bill that sought to undo that part of it.
“We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got a system to fix,” Obama said. “If a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it. It will have earned my veto.”
Republicans are trying to dismantle the health care legislation, as Sen. Joni Ernst noted in the GOP response to Obama’s speech.
“We see the hurt caused by canceled healthcare plans and higher monthly insurance bills,” Ernst said. “Americans have been hurting, but when we demanded solutions, too often Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare.”
Some major challenges lie ahead for the health law. It faces another Supreme Court challenge in March, as the justices prepare to take up a case that could result in the law’s insurance subsidies being blocked from low- and middle-income consumers in most states.
And some unpopular parts of the law, the mandates that Republicans often talk about, are kicking in, bringing more Americans face-to-face with Obamacare than ever before.
As of January, businesses with more than 100 employees must offer their employees affordable health coverage. Starting next year, that requirement will include employers with more than 50 workers.
And for the first time, people must say whether they had health coverage in 2014 as they file their taxes. If they didn’t have coverage — and don’t qualify for an exemption from it — they will have to pay a penalty.
