About 20 percent of people who logged onto HealthCare.gov have used their cell phone, the head of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Tuesday.
HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell disclosed the figure in Houston during a press conference. A spokeswoman for HHS pointed to the figure as evidence that the government is reaching out to populations that are typically uninsured, such as Hispanics.
“One of our priorities this year was to optimize HealthCare.gov and CuidadodeSalud.gov for mobile – so no matter where you were, you could learn about your options and get covered,” HHS spokeswoman Meaghan Smith wrote in a statement to The Hill.
The department’s targeting of mobile users is part of an effort to reach out to populations that remain uninsured, such as Spanish-speakers.
“We know that nearly three-quarters of Latinos own smartphones – almost 10 percent higher than the general population,” Smith added.
Health officials also touted the number of Spanish speakers who called the ObamaCare hotline this weekend, making up about 20,000 out of 200,000 calls.
The Houston press conference was not livestreamed and a recording was not yet available.
HHS has been slow to reveal statistics about the first weekend of enrollment, though officials.