In a First, ObamaCare Beats a Monthly Goal

More than projected signed up in January, though overall total still under target
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 12, 2014 6:51 PM CST
In a First, ObamaCare Beats a Monthly Goal
In this file photo, a woman in San Antonio uses a computer at a public library to access the Affordable Health Care Act website.   (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

New enrollment data shows that the total number of people who have signed up for ObamaCare remains below target, but the numbers also provide some rare good news for the White House. Some of the odds and ends:

  • January goal met: Last month, 1.1 million people signed up on either a federal or state exchange, beating the target of 1 million. That's a first, reports the Washington Post.
  • Overall figure shy: The new numbers mean that 3.3 million people have signed up since Oct. 1, shy of the goal of 4.4 million for this point, reports the New York Times. (That goal was set before the disastrous website rollout.)
  • More young people: People ages 18 to 34 accounted for 27% of enrollees in January, up from 24% in December, reports NPR. Overall, that means 25% of enrollees are in this crucial age group, well below the administration's goal of 40%. But health chief Kathleen Sebelius sees hope in the uptick: "The covered population is getting younger."

  • More women: They account for 55% of total enrollees at this point.
  • Big picture? "The biggest takeaway here, probably, is that Obamacare is starting to look more and more like the law that the White House had hoped to launch—not the one where technical glitches made it nearly impossible for shoppers to get in the door," writes Sarah Kliff at the Post.
(More ObamaCare stories.)

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