Some 12.4 million people submitted applications for health insurance under Obamacare as of Feb. 22, the date of an extended deadline for open enrollment, the department of Health and Human Services reported Wednesday.
More than 8.8 million had actually selected a plan, and more than half of those applications — or 53 percent — were from people new to the marketplace, HHS said.
The initial deadline for open enrollment had been Feb. 15, but the government announced last week that it was adding an extra week. A website problem and high call volumes left hundreds of thousands of consumers in the lurch, HHS said. The extra time was granted to accommodate only those consumers who attested that they already had an application underway when the deadline hit.
The government also announced a second extension last week to accommodate people who did not have insurance last year and who only became aware when filing their 2014 returns that they would have to pay a fine as a result. That period lasts from March 15 to April 30.
While HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said the numbers indicate “that the Affordable Care Act is working,” the law is about to face its strongest challenge yet.
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments March 4 in a case that claims that subsidies to help consumers pay for coverage are illegal in the 37 states that have federally operated exchanges.
Because nearly nine in 10 consumers receive subsidies to help them pay for coverage, a ruling that the subsidies are illegal could gut the law, experts have said.
About the Author
