The Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplaces just hit a record: Nearly 16 million people signed up for the insurance also known as Obamacare.
That is about a million more people than signed up for ACA health insurance last year, and enrollment is still open on Healthcare.gov and in most state marketplaces until Sunday, January 15. (Enrollment is open until January 31 in California, Washington, D.C., New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. In Massachusetts, it is open until January 23.)
What’s driving the upward trend? The big reason is that the plans are cheaper for people than they used to be. The federal government has pumped billions of dollars in recent years into subsidies to keep costs down for consumers. Health officials say 4 out of 5 enrollees qualify for plans that cost $10 or less per month. And 5 million people who are uninsured qualify for zero dollar premium plans, according to a recent analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation.
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