How many sign-ups to reach 6 million goal? 42 a minute.

That's how fast signups would have to be happening for the health law to "pass its first physical," reports The Associated Press. Meanwhile, health consultant Avalere projects that 5.4 million are actually on track to sign up for coverage by March 31.

The Associated Press: Obama's Health Care Law Needs 42 Sign-Ups A Minute To Reach Goal 
If the Obama administration's health care plan is going to pass what amounts to its first physical, people have to sign up this month at a pretty speedy rate: 42 times a minute. That's somewhere between the steady rate you breathe and how fast your heart beats (Borenstein, 3/12).

McClatchy: Health Care Enrollment May Only Reach 5.4 Million
Only 5.4 million people are on track to purchase marketplace health coverage by the time open enrollment ends on March 31, according to a new analysis from Avalere Health. After the Congressional Budget Office predicted 7 million Americans would sign up for coverage, they downsized their estimate to 6 million when technical problems with the HealthCare.gov website slowed enrollment in October and November. And even though the website has been functioning well since December, those early problems have cast a large shadow over enrollments ever since (Pugh, 3/12).