Story highlights
Enrollment grew by 400,000 since administration announced it surpassed April 1 target
Sign-ups steadily grew after rocky rollout
Republicans are still opposed to the Affordable Care Act
The number of people enrolled in Obamacare stands at 7.5 million – an increase of 400,000 since the Obama administration announced it surpassed its April 1 target, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the Senate Finance Committee Thursday.
The White House confirmed the increase in the number of people who have signed up on federal or state exchanges for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
President Barack Obama announced on April 1 that 7.1 million people had enrolled, surpassing the administration’s goal of 7 million enrollments by that date. That was a surprising victory for the administration after a rocky rollout of the program, which has become a political hot potato for Democrats and a rallying cry for Republicans.
The enrollment period began anemically in October with a faltering federal website. But signs of a pickup began in late January and continued into February and early March despite a fierce campaign by Republicans to demonize the law as unworkable.
