Affordable Care Act

The ACA designers might have assumed that they spelled out with sufficient clarity that millions would no longer have to pay for certain types of preventive care. But they didn’t reckon with America’s ever-creative medical billing juggernaut.

A record 21.3 million people signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act federal marketplace during the 2024 open enrollment period, according to a final tally announced by CMS.

With the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Tuesday approaching, Florida has more than 4 million Obamacare enrollees. Nationally, the ACA added 3.7 million for a record tally of about 20 million.

More than 19 million people have already signed up for health insurance through the marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act. And you can still enroll through Jan. 16.

Suburbs in South Florida that have swung toward Donald Trump are where the Obamacare health care program is more popular than anywhere else in the country

When the program was rolled out Nov. 2, Jacksonville officials said about 120,000 residents under age 65 were uninsured. As of Nov. 30, more than 26,000 of those people have enrolled for coverage.

The regulatory proposal was announced Nov. 15 and is likely one of the last major Obamacare policy efforts of the president’s term.

Duval County ranks 46 of 67 Florida counties in health outcomes, so easier ways to get health insurance are needed, according to Dr. Sunil Joshi, Jacksonville’s chief health officer.

The federal government has set the enrollment period for Affordable Care Act insurance from Wednesday to Jan. 15. Last year, Florida led the nation in the number of enrollees.

Congress has until October to avert cuts to a Medicaid program intended to support safety-net hospitals that, in practice, improves the bottom lines of other hospitals, too.