ObamaCare enrollment dips just slightly after Trump cuts to promotion

by Peter Sullivan - 04/03/18 3:51 PM ET

ObamaCare signups dropped only slightly this year despite major cutbacks in outreach efforts, the Trump administration announced Tuesday.

Officials said that 11.8 million people nationwide signed up for coverage in 2018, a slight drop from the 12.2 million who signed up last year.

{mosads}The administration cut advertising and outreach spending by 90 percent, in addition to cutting funds for outside groups that help people enroll.

Supporters of the law, given that context, were heartened by the numbers.

Seema Verma, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the law, offered both praise and criticism on Tuesday.

She wrote on Twitter that this year was the “most cost-effective and successful open enrollment to date!”

But she also criticized ObamaCare for “skyrocketing premiums and limited choice.”

She said that premiums increased 30 percent on average from last year to this year. But most people (83 percent of enrollees) get financial assistance under ObamaCare to help them afford their premiums, which shields them from having to pay that increase.

The administration had previously announced signup numbers only for the 39 states that use the federal healthcare.gov system, in December. Those numbers also showed only a slight drop-off.