Counting will continue after 'official' deadline

The counting goes on as federal and state exchange officials tally consumers who are taking advantage of various extensions to sign up late. Efforts to determine whether the overhaul is working also continue.

Politico: Enrollment Caveats Will Keep ACA Counting
For Obamacare enrollment, it's not over even when it's over.
With special enrollment, extra special enrollment, slightly extended state enrollment and very extended state enrollment, the sign-up tally will keep climbing beyond the 7.1 million people President Barack Obama announced Tuesday (Kenen, 4/1).

The Associated Press: It's Not Too Late To Get Health Coverage
It's not too late to get covered. A few routes remain open for those who missed the health care law's big enrollment deadline. Millions may be eligible for a second chance to sign up for subsidized insurance this year. And people who get coverage after the deadline can still avoid, or at least reduce, the fine for going uninsured (4/2).

Politico: Behind The Obamacare Surprise
The administration overcame a disastrous start to actually hit 7 million enrollees. They lost two months -; and all the political capital they won from the government shutdown -; to a broken website that seemed to prove every one of their critics' complaints, and fed the most negative coverage and worst polls President Barack Obama's ever gotten. They've done nothing to settle the political objections, and know May 1 is going to be a whole new kind of trouble trying to educate the newly insured on how to use the plans they've now got. But Tuesday, in private meetings in the Oval Office and his triumphant speech in the Rose Garden, there was no missing the bounce in the president's step (Dovere and Budoff Brown, 4/2). 

NPR: Beyond The Fog Of Spin And Doubt: What Has ACA Achieved?
The Affordable Care Act has made it possible for millions of Americans to obtain health insurance -; but how successful has the law been in reforming the health care system? (Ydstie, 4/1).

The Fiscal Times: What's Next for Obamacare? 5 Things to Watch
The White House is doing a victory lap as the Affordable Care Act's first open enrollment period has come to a close. As of midnight last night, the administration had reportedly reached its original goal of enrolling some 7 million people on the new exchanges-;a feat that seemed nearly impossible at the beginning of March when enrollment was at 5 million. Though this is certainly good news for the White House, there are still hurdles ahead of the law and many crucial questions we need to answer before we can fully assess how it's really shaping up. Here are five things to watch (Ehley, 4/1).