The White House has announced that 14.5 million Americans got private health insurance for this year under the Obama-era health law, thanks to help from his administration.
It is a record number of people signing up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Open enrollment for 2022 coverage ended Jan. 15.
The previous marketplace enrollment record was 12.7 million in 2016, the final year of President Barack Obama’s administration. Enrollment largely stagnated under President Donald Trump.
But progress could prove fleeting if congressional Democrats remain deadlocked over President Joe Biden’s social agenda package.
Biden’s earlier coronavirus relief bill has been providing generous subsidy increases. That enhanced financial assistance is temporary. The assistance will go away at the end of 2022 without congressional action to extend it additional years or make it permanent.
“Health care should be a right, not a privilege, for all Americans,” Biden said Thursday in a statement announcing the numbers. “We are making that right a reality for a record number of people, bringing down costs and increasing access for families across the country.”
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