(This story has been updated with a correction.)
The Obama administration was on course to surpass its 2015 insurance enrollment goal on state and federal exchanges roughly a month before open enrollment ends Feb.15.
Nationwide, 9.5 million consumers had selected or were automatically re-enrolled into qualified health plans between Nov. 15 and Jan. 17, according to an HHS report released Tuesday (PDF). The total includes more than 7.1 million signing up through HealthCare.gov and 2.4 million gaining coverage through 14 state-based exchanges.
“We still have a lot of work to do before Feb. 15, but are encouraged by the strong interest we've seen so far,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement.
HHS has estimated that 9.1 Americans would ultimately obtain 2015 coverage through the exchanges, although the Congressional Budget Office projected last year that exchange enrollment would reach 13 million this year.The CBO recently revised its estimate down to 12 million.
The administration's enrollment figures reflect consumers who have selected a plan. The final tally will eliminate ones who don't pay their first premium to complete the transaction.
Of those signing up for coverage on HealthCare.gov, 87% are receiving financial assistance. Not all state-based exchanges reported the percentage of those getting financial aid, but for the nine that did, 70% are getting help, according to HHS.
The states with the highest enrollment totals are California with 1.2 million and Florida with nearly 1.3 million.
(This story has been corrected to reflect that the 2015 enrollment total will be adjusted to exclude consumers who selected plans but don't pay their first premiums.)
Follow Virgil Dickson on Twitter: @MHvdickson
