The number of people enrolled in Obamacare plans dropped slightly at the ushering in of the new year, partly because some customers canceled plans they were automatically enrolled in.
Final enrollment landed at roughly 8.4 million people, compared to the 8.5 million total reported in December. Last year’s final tally was 8.7 million.
The totals represent customers who enrolled through healthcare.gov, the website that 39 states use. Some states, such as California, run their own exchanges and have later deadlines than the Dec. 15 one the federal government set.
The latest drop was expected because some customers canceled their plans within hours of the deadline, while others canceled plans they were automatically enrolled in. Another cohort was likely not approved because of problems with verifying their identities. Such patterns are common with every open enrollment.
The final tally also represents a net change because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had reported in December that it was returning calls to 200,000 people who left their information to receive a call back and enroll. CMS officials have celebrated the final tally, saying that enrollment is down from last year because the economy has improved, meaning that people have obtained coverage through work rather than through the Obamacare exchanges, which are available to people who have to get coverage themselves.
Trump administration officials also have pointed out that as many as 100,000 people who used to get exchange coverage are now eligible for no-cost insurance through Medicaid in Virginia, which went into effect Jan. 1.
But Democrats have placed the blame for the shortfall on the Trump administration. They warned throughout open enrollment that sign-ups would fall behind this year, accusing the Trump administration of trying to sabotage Obamacare by cutting the budget for navigators and advertisements for open enrollment, in addition to reducing the sign-up period from three months to six weeks.
The administration also has allowed people to buy coverage outside of Obamacare’s rules, and Republicans in Congress had zeroed out the fine on the uninsured, which may have contributed to people choosing to forgo coverage.
Adding to the list of possible factors influencing enrollment is that just one day before open enrollment closed, a federal judge ruled Obamacare unconstitutional. The law in still in place while it is being appealed.
Democrats took control of the House on Thursday, and announced soon after that they would be holding committee hearings about the Trump administration’s actions related to Obamacare.
At CMS, officials have stressed that they consider this year’s enrollment to be a success. The Congressional Budget Office had predicted that millions of people would become uninsured.
CMS said its outreach was “cost-effective” and “high impact,’ noting it sent more 700 million reminder emails and text messages to consumers.
