The White House on Wednesday touted the record-breaking numbers of people signing up for health insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges, with almost a month left in open enrollment.
More than 15 million people to date have signed up for health insurance, a 33 percent increase over the same point last year. The administration said it estimates more than 19 million people will have selected plans by the Jan. 16 deadline, an increase of 7 million compared to when President Biden took office.
On Dec. 15, the deadline for coverage starting Jan. 1, more than 745,000 people selected a plan through HealthCare.gov — the most in a day in history, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
“Thanks to policies I signed into law, millions of Americans are saving hundreds or thousands of dollars on health insurance premiums,” Biden said in a statement. “Extreme Republicans want to stop these efforts in their tracks. … At every turn, extreme Republicans continue to side with special interests to keep prescription drug prices high and to deny millions of people health coverage.”
The White House is eager to push health care to the front of the 2024 presidential campaign. The latest update comes after former President Trump resurrected talk of repealing and replacing ObamaCare last month.
Biden is leaning into lowering health care costs, expanding coverage and picking fights with the drug industry to draw a contrast with Trump, the likely GOP nominee.
The HealthCare.gov open enrollment usually runs to Jan. 15, but since that’s a federal holiday in 2024, consumers will have until midnight Jan. 16 to enroll in coverage that starts Feb. 1.