More than 16.3 million people enrolled in a health plan through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) during the most recent open enrollment period, marking the highest number of enrollees since the program was signed into law 10 years ago.
This record amount of enrollments occurred between Nov. 1 and Jan. 15 and represented nearly 2 million more people than the number that enrolled the previous year. According to the White House, 3.6 million people, or 22 percent of those who signed up in this enrollment period, were new to the Marketplace.
“Unprecedented investments lead to unprecedented results,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has made lowering health care costs and expanding access to health insurance a top priority — and these record-breaking numbers show we are delivering results for the American people,” added Becerra. “We will keep doing everything we can to ensure more people have the peace of mind that comes with high-quality, affordable health care.”
A White House press release noted that 92 percent of enrollees had options from three or more insurance companies when shopping for plans for this year. Four out of five people who are returning enrollees were able to find plans costing $10 or less after tax credits.
“On the tenth anniversary of the ACA Marketplaces, the numbers speak for themselves: more people signed up for plans this year than ever before, and the uninsured rate is at an all-time low,” Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said in a statement.
In the previous enrollment period, roughly 14.5 million people enrolled in insurance plans through the Affordable Care Act. The number of individuals signing up for health plans through HealthCare.gov has now grown by almost 5 million since 2020, when enrollment dipped to about 11.5 million.