Record 16.5 Million Americans Have Signed Up for Obamacare

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 25, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- More than 3 million new people signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare, this year, swelling enrollment numbers to a record 16.3 million Americans.

"On the 10th anniversary of the ACA Marketplaces, the numbers speak for themselves: More people signed up for plans this year than ever before, and the uninsured rate is at an all-time low," Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator for the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), said in a statement announcing the enrollment numbers. Just 8% of Americans are now uninsured.

The increases for this year included individuals from low-income, immigrant, Black and Latino communities, Brooks-LaSure noted.

“We made unprecedented investments to expand our enrollment organization footprint into nearly every county in the country and targeted the hardest-to-reach communities,” Brooks-LaSure told the Associated Press.

Those numbers are double the number of people insured when the Affordable Care Act marketplaces were launched during the Obama administration nearly a decade ago, the AP reported.

Some of that coverage is due to investments by President Joe Biden and a Democratic-led Congress, the AP reported.

Over the past two years, millions of dollars have been spent to help people access low-cost health insurance, including through Medicaid.

U.S. states were prevented from removing people from the Medicaid rolls during the pandemic, though millions of people may start losing that coverage this spring.

For some, that’s because their income is now too high to qualify, the AP reported. Some of those individuals may be able to access new insurance coverage in the ACA marketplace.

The Biden administration is spending $12 million on information specialists who can continue registering those transitioning from Medicaid to the marketplace, the AP reported.

More information

The U.S. Census Bureau has more on health insurance coverage in the United States.