This year’s open enrollment period has already broken previous records for the number of enrollments.
So far, over 20 million consumers across the United States have enrolled in health insurance plans through Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces this year.
This represents the highest number of enrollments since the law went into effect back in 2010.
New data was released on Wednesday announcing that the health insurance plan enrollments for 2024 had already broken the record, even with another week left in which to enroll in a plan for the year.
More than 3.7 million people who signed up for coverage in 2024 are new enrollees who had never used the Affordable Care Act marketplaces to purchase a plan before. This, according to data recently released by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Today is a momentous day. A record number of people in the United States have health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace — more than at any point in history,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
Many of the enrollees receive subsidies through the marketplaces in order to reduce the size of the monthly premiums they pay for their coverage.
The newly released health insurance enrollment data represents statistics up to December 23, 2023.
The data released doesn’t yet include the enrollments that took place between December 24 and the current date. Moreover, it represents only those that were completed within the 32 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov site and the 18 states and the District of Columbia that have their own marketplaces, said the announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Affordable Care Act, sometimes known by the nickname Obamacare, was the signature domestic legislation of former US President Barack Obama.
The current Biden-Harris Administration forecasted late in 2023 that there would be more than 19 million health insurance plan enrollments through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces for 2024.
The open enrollment window for purchasing a plan is still open and will continue to be until January 16, 2024. Consumers seeking coverage for this year through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces must do so by that date.
