Newly released enrollment data highlight last-minute sign-up surge

The Obama administration's final report on insurance enrollment under the health law offered the most complete picture so far regarding who signed up, the degree of state-by-state variation and what impact these numbers could have on rates.   

The New York Times: A Late Rush To Sign Up For Insurance
The number of people signing up for health insurance through the federal marketplace soared in March, exceeding the number who signed up in the previous five months, the Obama administration said Thursday in its final report on enrollment under the new health care law. The report, for the first time, provided information about the racial and ethnic backgrounds of those signing up. Of the 3.8 million people in the federal exchange who voluntarily disclosed such information, 63 percent were white, 17 percent were black, 11 percent were Hispanic and 8 percent were Asian, officials said (Pear, 5/1).

Los Angeles Times: State-By-State Differences In Obamacare Enrollment Could Affect Rates
Sign-ups for insurance through President Obama's health law varied widely across the country in the first year for the online marketplaces, according to a government report released Thursday that shows consumers flocked to coverage in some states but not in others. These differences could exacerbate regional variations in premiums next year, with potentially steep rate increases for people in states with low enrollment (Levey, 5/1).

Kaiser Health News: Capsules: Healthcare.gov Finished Strong Despite Rocky Start, Enrollment Data Show; Obama administration officials on Thursday predicted health insurance premiums would be stable next year despite concerns that not enough young and healthy people signed up through the online insurance exchanges (Galewitz, 5/1).

NPR: Obamacare Sign-Ups Show Wide Variation By State, Ethnicity
The total number of people buying plans outside of government exchanges is estimated at somewhere between 5 million and 8 million people. Medicaid also saw a surge in enrollment during the last six months, as 27 states expanded the program (as the ACA encourages). About 4.8 million people signed up for benefits via Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. About 85 percent of all those who signed up via the exchanges received federal subsidies of their monthly premiums (Whitney, 5/1). 

The Wall Street Journal: Obama Administration Says 28% Of Health-Law Enrollees Are 18 To 34 Years Old
The data, released Thursday by the Obama administration, painted a more complete picture of enrollment in the plans. They show that about 28 percent of people picking plans on the state and federal insurance exchanges by April 19 -- after most states' enrollment deadlines passed -- were 18 to 34 years old, a generally healthy group. The proportion is higher than previous counts. But it is significantly below the 40 percent level that some analysts consider important for holding down rates by balancing the greater medical spending generated by older enrollees (Radnofsky and Mathews, 5/1). 

The Washington Post: States That Didn't Set Up Marketplaces See Surge In Health Plan Enrollment, Figures Show
A last-minute deluge of health insurance sign-ups came from states where political leaders have opposed the Obama administration's health-care law, according to federal figures released Thursday. In March and April, the number of people enrolling in plans more than doubled in the 36 states that chose not to set up their own marketplaces, the figures show. Most of these states deferred to the federal marketplace, HealthCare.gov, in a show of resistance to the program (Somashekhar and Keating, 5/1). 

The Associated Press: Health Law: 8 Million Chose New Plan Under Law
Still, strong state-by-state performance indicates that the health care law is making inroads around the country, even as Republicans insist repealing "Obamacare" will be a winning issue in the fall congressional elections. An Associated Press analysis of the government numbers found that 31 states met or exceeded enrollment targets set by the administration before the insurance exchanges opened. Twenty of those are led by Republican governors, many of whom were hostile to the program (5/1). 

Politico: Report: Obamacare Sign-Ups Cross 8 Million
About 13 million people got coverage under Obamacare during the first open enrollment season of the Affordable Care Act, enough for administration officials to be confident that every state's insurance market will be stable going into 2015. … The report said 8 million had signed up in the state and federal exchanges, and that Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program enrollment had grown by at least 4.8 million since October. Many were newly insured (Cheney and Haberkorn, 5/2). 

Fox News: New Obamacare Numbers: 8M Enrollees With 28% Being Young Individuals
The enrollment figures for the Affordable Care Act's first open enrollment period continue to climb, as do the number of young enrollees, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services. The department announced 8,019,763 people have selected plans on both state and federal exchanges through April 19. This includes enrollment activity after the formal end of open enrollment on March 31 that was extended for those who had continued issues signing up or life circumstances that caused them to enroll late (Rogers, 5/1). 

McClatchy: Young Adults Fuel Final Surge In Health Insurance Enrollment
Nearly half of the 8 million Americans who signed up for marketplace health insurance did so in the final seven weeks of the six-month enrollment period that ended on April 19, the Obama administration reported Thursday. Seventeen states, including Georgia, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and South Carolina, saw their marketplace enrollment more than double since March 1. The 11th-hour scramble for coverage netted 3.8 million new enrollees nationwide in March and April, including nearly 1.2 million young adults ages 18 to 34, who accounted for 31 percent of the final enrollment surge (Pugh, 5/1).

USA Today: Silver Plans By Far The Most Popular Insurance Option
The type of plans selected by those choosing private insurance, as well as the new customers' demographics, were key parts of the latest HHS report, which covers the entire open-enrollment period for the law. Silver plans cover 70 percent of health costs, leaving the consumer responsible for the rest. Consumers could choose from bronze, silver, gold or platinum plans, with platinum plans having the highest premium and the lowest out-of-pocket costs for the consumer. About 20 percent chose bronze, 9 percent chose gold, 5 percent chose platinum. Two percent a bare-bones catastrophic care plan. All plans include no out-of-pocket costs for preventive exams, such as yearly physicals or women's annual cancer screenings (Kennedy, 5/1).