2/7/2018
Nearly 11.8 million people signed up for Obamacare again this year, depite President Trump calling it “dead”.
An Associated Press count found that nationwide enrollment was about 3 percent lower than last year. California, with more than 1.5 million sign-ups, was the last state to report, announcing its numbers on Wednesday. Sixteen states actually increased their enrollment from last year, according to AP’s analysis.
Total enrollment remained remarkably stable despite Trump’s effort to discredit and kill the program. The Trump administration also cut the sign-up period in half, slashed the ad budget, and suddenly stopped a major subsidy to insurers, which triggered a jump in premiums.
Besides Trump’s efforts, people still signed up leading Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to declare “The Affordable Care Act and the landmark protections and affordable coverage it provides are here to stay.”
The Trump administration said it is preparing an official tally for release next month and would have no comment on AP’s analysis. Newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a critic of the health law, but he has avoided directly antagonizing Democrats over it. The White House line remains that “Obamacare” should be repealed and replaced, but Republicans in Congress don’t have the votes.
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