More than 1.1 million people enrolled in health plans through the federal exchange between Oct. 1 and Dec. 24, according to a blog post by CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner.
More than 975,000 enrolled through the federal exchange site, HealthCare.gov, in December alone, Ms. Tavenner wrote. Last week, the site experienced a surge of more than 850,000 visits after the Obama administration enacted a 24-hour extension — from midnight on Monday to Tuesday — of the deadline for people to sign up for coverage effective Jan. 1.
Enrollment numbers have been lower than anticipated as a result of numerous technical issues that have plagued HealthCare.gov. However, thanks to repair efforts, the site could support 83,000 concurrent users as of Dec. 23, and enrollment numbers have been on the rise, according to HHS.
HHS reported nearly 365,000 individuals selected health plans through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act marketplaces by the end of November, including 227,478 people who selected a plan through the state-based health insurance exchanges and 137,204 individuals who chose plans through the federal exchange.
During the first month of open enrollment, HHS reported 106,185 people completed applications and selected a marketplace health plan through the exchanges, including 79,391 enrolled through the state exchanges and 26,794 enrolled through the federal health insurance exchange site.
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