Obama administration officials say the number of Americans who will gain health coverage during 2015 through Affordable Care Act marketplaces will be about 30% lower than earlier estimates.
Health and Human Services executives said 9 million to 9.9 million will have insurance under the ACA by the end of 2015. Several months ago the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the figure would be 13 million.
As of mid-October, according to HHS, 7.1 million people were paying customers of health plans they had purchased via online marketplaces. This is down slightly from the 8 million at the end of the first enrollment period in the spring of 2014. Some have stopped paying their premiums, and about 112,000 immigrants were dropped by the government when it was determined they were not eligible for coverage.
HHS officials say they expect about 80% of the 7.1 million insureds to renew their coverage for 2015. Some of 1.8 million who leave will have gained coverage from employers, while the rest will have experienced decreases in income that qualify them for Medicaid.