Record Numbers Enroll in ObamaCare

Some 14.5 million Americans who lack job-based health coverage signed up for 2022 coverage under the Affordable Care Act—a record—according to the latest figures. They're not quite final, with the number expected to climb, per the Washington Post. The current tally includes 10 million people from 33 states who signed up through HealthCare.gov during the open enrollment period that ran from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15. It also includes 4.5 million people from 17 states and the District of Columbia who signed up through other insurance marketplaces under the ACA as of Jan. 15. Some of those are still accepting sign-ups or have created special enrollment periods.

Already, the tally beats the previous 2016 enrollment record of 12.7 million. It's also 21% greater than the 12 million figure from last year, per the Post. It's a win for President Biden, who campaigned on strengthening the ACA. A week into office, Biden announced a special enrollment period that would stretch on for six months, during which 2.8 million people signed up for plans. Lower-income Americans signed up at the highest rate during that time, per CBS News. His administration also extended the latest open enrollment period by a month, and poured funding into outreach and enrollment coaches, after slashes in funding under the Trump administration.

The coronavirus relief bill, passed in March, for the first time expanded federal subsidies, including for higher-earning families. Biden said families saved $2,400 on premiums on average, per USA Today, though that assistance will expire at the end of this year without further action from Congress. Biden said Thursday that the relief bill "did more to lower costs and expand access to health care than any action since the passage of the Affordable Care Act," per CBS. He also touted "the highest numbers ever produced in an open enrollment period" in a statement released ahead of a report on enrollment from the Department of Health and Human Services, per the Post. (More Affordable Care Act stories.)