How many people will sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA, Obamacare)?
There are a number of different projections. WonkBlog reports:
The big political focus has been on whether exchange enrollment by March 31 will reach 6 million, the revised estimate provided by the Congressional Budget Office. After the Department of Health and Human Services announced 4.2 million sign-ups through the end of February, the Avalere Health consulting firm projected that sign-ups would hit 5.4 million by the deadline.
Charles Gaba of ACAsignups.net predicts the final sign-up tally will hit 6.22 million.
However, there is another pathway for individuals to gain insurance: buy it the old fashioned way; not through the exchange. For individuals who do not qualify for subsidies, they have limited incentives to sign up for insurance through the exchange. Thus, the ACA’s individual mandate may be increasing health care coverage, but in ways that were not entirely foreseen when the bill was written.