Obamacare is rarely the subject of positive news stories, which makes these two articles all the more surprising. The New York Times and Los Angeles Times both report Tuesday morning on a significant uptick in health law enrollment during November.
That 50,000 figure is obviously still quite short of enrollment projections that expected about 700,000 enrollments by the end of November. But it also suggests that, both in states and the federal marketplace, enrollment is moving at a slightly faster clip.
This is what many health policy experts predicted: The rate of enrollment would grow throughout November and mid-December up until Dec. 15, the last day to purchase coverage that begins on Jan. 1. There would likely be a bit of a lull until late December and early January, followed by more sign-ups in February and especially March, the last month of the open enrollment period.
What they did not expect was a full month where it would be near impossible to purchase coverage through the exchange. And the looming question is whether enough people will sign up over the next four-and-a-half months to recover that lost ground.