The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on Wednesday released enrollment data for the 39 states that use the Affordable Care Act, nicknamed Obamacare. Politico Pulse writer Dan Diamond analyzed the data and found signups for the coverage hit a record, partly due to an improved mobile-device interface.
But there is still no complete picture on ages of enrollees, plan selections, and "other variables," Diamond said.
Signups for the year hit 6.4 million, a record for Healthcare.gov coverage starting Jan. 1, 2017. About two-thirds of the signups are returning customers, and the amount of customers is 7 percent higher than last year. As of Monday, 4.31 million renewed coverage and 2.05 million began new coverage, Diamond reported.
Thirty-six percent more customers used mobile devices to sign up. Mobile customers were 28 percent more likely to enroll in the plan than in the previous year, according to Politico's report.
Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in Politico's report, "Today's enrollment numbers confirm that some of the doomsday predictions about the marketplace are not bearing out."
The Politico report noted no data was presented on ages of Obamacare customers, the plans they selected or their subsidy levels, which would help determine how successful the coverage is. However, this year's report did not contain as much information as last year's, according to the St. Louis Dispatch's Samantha Liss in a tweet.
Total enrollment should be watched, Diamond said, because the increase was likely due to the enrollment date being extended by two days.
"Growth in the market may be leveling out as new enrollment is down relative to last year," according to Avalere's Caroline Pearson. She said the market would probably grow, but would not reach the program's stated goal of 13.8 million enrollments.
Politico also reported Gov. Susana Martinez, R-N.M., addressed Obamacare on Wednesday: She said her office did not send a letter to Republican lawmakers that was dated Dec. 12 with her name included. The letter said Obamacare provided "significant benefits" to New Mexico.
Martinez said New Mexico's insurance exchange wrote the letter.
"This organization has no right to communicate the governor's views," according to Martinez spokesman Chris Sanchez. "Gov. Martinez has made it crystal clear she opposes Obamacare, because it hurts small businesses and raises premiums on our families."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.