ObamaCare enrollment drops slightly to 9.9M

The Obama administration said Tuesday that 9.9 million people have ObamaCare coverage, a slight drop from the previous count of 10.2 million.

{mosads}The new data are for people who have paid their premiums as of June 30, marking a drop-off from the number enrolled through March 31. 

Both figures are down from the 11.7 million who signed up in the enrollment period this year, but a decline was expected from that figure, as not all of those people paid their premiums. The administration said it expects some further fluctuation as factors like gaining employer-based coverage or getting married could effect how many people need ObamaCare coverage. 

The administration points out that the new figure is still higher than the administration’s stated goal of 9.1 million sign-ups this year. 

“Millions of Americans are benefiting from the peace of mind that comes with having quality coverage at a price they can afford as they access coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace,” Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement. 

The administration also released data on its efforts to fight fraud and maintain the integrity of ObamaCare coverage.

It said that as of June 30 it had terminated coverage for around 423,000 people who failed to produce sufficient documentation of their citizenship or immigration status.

It also said that 937,000 households received an adjustment in the amount of money they received from the government to help them afford coverage.

Those adjustments were because of “data matching” issues, where the income information people supplied did not match with government data, or people did not submit sufficient documentation.

The issue of fraud in ObamaCare came into the spotlight in July with a Government Accountability Office report finding that 11 fictitious people were able to enroll in coverage successfully.

Separately, the administration added that 84 percent of enrollees, or about 8.3 million people, received a government subsidy under the health law to help afford their premiums, at an average amount of $270 per month.

California also edged past Florida for the title of state with the most sign-ups, at around 1.4 million and 1.3 million respectively. 

—Updated at 3:50 p.m.