'Obamacare' sign-ups top 600k in first week

[Amica Nostra 4,803]

 

 

WASHINGTON — More than 600,000 people signed up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act in the first week of open enrollment, the government said Thursday. That pace tracks with previous years despite persistent political turmoil over the health law.

Figures released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services showed that 601,462 people signed up Nov. 1-4 in the 39 states served by the federal HealthCare.gov website. Of those, about 77 percent were returning customers renewing their coverage, and about 23 percent were new consumers, a split that also mirrors previous years.

Sign-ups for states running their own health insurance markets are not usually included in the early data snapshot. That means that nationally, overall enrollment is higher than reflected in Thursday's statistics. Enacted under former President Barack Obama, the health law offers subsidized private insurance plans to people who don't have health coverage on the job.