Federal officials announced Tuesday that health insurance enrollment in 2015 under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act totaled 10.2 million at the end of March, down from an estimate given earlier that month of 11.7 million people, according to The New York Times.
This 13 percent drop in enrollment is mostly attributed to people who did not pay their premiums, the administration said. Some of the lost coverage may also be due people picking up employer-sponsored insurance or switching to Medicare or Medicaid, according to the report.
Others fell off the PPACA plans because they were unable to prove their immigration status or citizenship. About 117,000 people who were unable to document their citizenship or immigration status were kicked off plans obtained through federal marketplaces on March 31, according to the report. This number is up from 2014, when the government ended coverage for 109,000 people who could not prove their status.
Even though 13 percent of people have fallen off PPACA plans, enrollment is still up from the end of last year, when 6.3 million people were enrolled and had paid their premiums. This year's total of 10.2 million is also on target to exceed the goal set by HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell to have 9.1 million enrolled with premiums paid by Dec. 31, according to the report.
"The health insurance marketplaces are working," Ms. Burwell said, according to the report. "We've seen a historic reduction in the uninsured, and consumers are finding the coverage they need at a price they can afford."
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