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Sign-ups for plans on the Affordable Care Act's exchanges reached 5.5 million during the first five weeks of open enrollment, according to the latest figures from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS said Wednesday that figure includes 1.2 million people who have newly signed up for coverage through the exchanges as well as 4.3 million people who have returned to the exchanges to renew or select a new plan for 2023. That represents an 18% increase year over year; in 2021, 4.6 million people had signed up for plans through the first five weeks of the enrollment period. (Minemyer, 12/7)

Nearly 5.5 million Americans so far have signed up for health insurance for next year through the Affordable Care Act's marketplace, an 18% increase over the same period last year, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday. People who want to choose a healthcare plan for 2023 under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, can enroll between Nov. 1 and Jan. 15. However, if they want to be covered as of Jan. 1 they generally need to choose a plan by Dec. 15. (12/7)

Access to health insurance with affordable premiums is only one aspect of access to health care. Consumers may face barriers to care if a plan’s cost-sharing requirements (e.g., deductibles and coinsurance) are unaffordable. (Bohl, Karcher, Novak and Uccello, 12/6)

Oklahoma’s child health insurance rate saw the biggest improvement in the country, a new report found. Experts say Medicaid expansion and continuous Medicaid coverage during the pandemic helped drive the gains in children’s health care coverage, but the state has work to do to retain that progress. (Branham, 12/7)

Colorado is among the states that made the most progress in a nationwide effort to connect kids with health insurance coverage during the pandemic, according to a report published Wednesday by the Georgetown University Health Policy Institute’s Center for Children and Families. (Breunlin, 12/8)