Report: Affordable Care Act sign-ups surge as open enrollment begins
Open enrollment figures under the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare are showing a surge in the number of participants compared with years past, according to a new report by the Washington Post.
The Post, citing federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reports that more than 200,000 Americans chose a plan on November 1st, the first day open enrollment began -- more than double the number of participants who signed up on the first day of enrollment in 2016.
While the administration has yet to release final figures, an official also said that more than 1 million people visited HealthCare.gov, the official federal website to enroll in Obamacare -- about a 33 percent increase in users compared to last year.
The Post notes that the figures only capture a portion of the nation's overall enrollment figures. More than a dozen states and the District of Columbia run their own enrollment programs and do not use the HealthCare.gov site for enrollees.
This year's open enrollment period comes at a particularly contentious time for health care as fewer choices in the exchange marketplace and recent cutbacks from the Trump administration, including ending important reimbursements and slashing consumer support, make for an uncertain market and confused customers.