White House touts enrollment achievement

The New York Times: Health Care Law Meets Goal Of 7 Million Enrollees
More than 7 million people signed up for medical insurance through exchanges set up by President Obama's new health care program by Monday night's deadline, meeting the forecast originally set for the six-month enrollment period, the White House announced on Tuesday. "It's fair to say we surpassed everyone's expectations, at least everyone in this room," Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, said during a briefing (Pear, 4/1).

The Washington Post: More Than 7 Million Americans Have Enrolled Under Affordable Care Act, White House Says
The tally -; 7.04 million -; is based on the number of people who enrolled for coverage through the new federal insurance marketplace operating in three dozen states by the deadline of midnight on Monday, plus the enrollments from 14 state-run marketplaces as of March 30. Taken together, the enrollment reflects a late rush of consumers seeking coverage as the March 31 deadline approached. They lifted the enrollment beyond the level that federal officials have believed likely in recent months (Goldstein and Eilperin, 4/1).

Politico: White House: 7 Million Signed Up For Obamacare
Carney said the administration expects that the final numbers will also show sharply higher enrollment by young adults, but he said no demographic breakdowns are available yet and was unable to say how many of the enrollees were previously uninsured. The law's impact on the uninsured, he said, was intended to be measured over three years (Kenen and Cheney, 4/1).

The Wall Street Journal: Seven Million Sign Up For Health Care Coverage, White House Says
During the final hours of the sign-up period, the White House reached a key target that many believed was unattainable after the disastrous rollout of HealthCare.gov late last year-;surpassing the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's initial projection that seven million would enroll in private health plans. The original estimate had been revised down to six million after technical problems hobbled the website late last year. The new figures didn't include the people who enrolled through more than a dozen state exchanges on Monday, White House press secretary Jay Carney said. Also, people who say they tried to sign up for health care but didn't complete the process before Monday's deadline still will be permitted to complete the process (Favole, Nelson and Radnofsky, 4/1).

The Associated Press: White House: 7 Million Signed Up For Health Care
Carney argued that Republicans had run ads against the law, tried to repeal it repeatedly and their determination to do so precipitated a government shutdown last year. "That effort could not stop this law from working," he said (Pickler and Alonso-Zaldivar, 4/1).

The Hill: White House Says More Than 7 Million Enrolled In ObamaCare
Hitting 7 million enrollments is a major symbolic achievement for the White House in an election year when Republicans have a good chance of taking the Senate. Democrats hope the high enrollment number will create a comeback narrative that candidates can use to fend off GOP healthcare attacks. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the figure "heartwarming for those of us who worked so hard" to ensure that the controversial legislation passed through Congress (Viebeck and Sink, 4/1).

Los Angeles Times: White House: Obamacare Sign-Ups Exceed Goal Of 7 Million
But the president's messaging machine was also shifting into gear for the next big challenge: persuading Americans of the healthcare law's success before congressional elections this fall. While previously uninsured Americans are getting used to their new access to healthcare, the White House wants to drive home the message that the benefits may be at risk if Republicans are in charge (Parsons, 4/1).