The number of people signed up and paying for coverage during the second enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act has exceeded goals set by HHS.
About 11.7 million Americans selected plans through the Marketplaces during the last period that ended in February. Ultimately, 10.2 million consumers had “effectuated” coverage, which means they received and paid for their coverage, the agency announced Tuesday. The agency's goal was 9.1 million effectuated signups.
Despite surpassing its goal, the figure was less than the 12 million people the Congressional Budget Office estimated would obtain and pay for coverage this year.
The data the CMS released also once again underscored the stakes of the pending U.S. Supreme Court decision for the King v. Burwell lawsuit. At the heart of the case is whether the ACA's language allows consumers to receive premium subsidies in states that have not established their own insurance exchanges and instead are relying on the federal exchange.
Should the court decide against the Obama administration, consumers living in the 34 states relying on HealthCare.gov as their insurance marketplace could lose premium subsidies.
Roughly 6.4 million consumers living in a federally run exchange state have received an average premium tax credit of $272 a month to make their premiums more affordable throughout the year, the agency says.
A decision on the lawsuit is expected by the end of the month.
