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The White House said Thursday that a record 14.5 million Americans have signed up for health insurance through Obamacare marketplaces since Nov. 1, including more than 10 million enrollments through HealthCare.gov. Last year's stimulus bill contained substantial investments in the program, including increased subsidies for people who don't receive health insurance from an employer or through Medicare or Medicaid. "The American Rescue Plan did more to lower costs and expand access to health care than any action since the passage of the Affordable Care Act," President Biden said in a statement. (Knutson, 1/27)

“Health care should be a right, not a privilege, for all Americans,” President Joe 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.” But progress could prove fleeting if congressional Democrats remain deadlocked over Biden’s social agenda package. Biden’s earlier coronavirus relief bill has been providing generous subsidy increases that benefit new and returning customers by lowering premiums and out-of-pocket costs. The enhanced financial assistance is temporary. It will go away at the end of 2022 without congressional action to extend it additional years or make it permanent, included in the social agenda legislation. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/27)

More Michiganders signed up for 2022 health insurance during the federal government's recent open enrollment period for the Healthcare.gov marketplace than any year since 2017, and the estimated number of uninsured people in the state continues to hover just above 5%. New sign-up figures released Thursday for Affordable Care Act marketplace plans, also known as Obamacare, show that 303,550 Michiganders signed up for health insurance during the 2022 open enrollment period stretching from Nov. 1 to Jan. 15. (Reindl, 1/27)

KHN: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’: Record ACA Enrollment Puts Pressure On Congress 

The Biden administration announced that 14.5 million Americans have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act for 2022. That’s a record, and several states are still enrolling people. But many millions of those newly insured could face significantly higher premiums for 2023 unless Congress extends the temporary subsidies it passed last year. Meanwhile, lawmakers are again working to salvage parts of the president’s Build Back Better social spending bill that failed to garner enough votes to pass the Senate. Separately, lawmakers are looking to remake the federal public health apparatus to better prepare for the next pandemic. (1/27)

KHN: Listen: Generous Deals, And A Few Unwanted Surprises, At Covered California

KHN Southern California correspondent Bernard J. Wolfson was on “Línea Abierta,” a Radio Bilingüe weekday news program, answering questions for a Spanish-speaking audience about his recent column on health plan enrollment through California’s Affordable Care Act marketplace, Covered California. Wolfson’s column discusses the extraordinary deals available through Covered California. Because of a significant increase in federal tax credits, many people qualify for generous coverage without paying a penny in monthly premiums. Others, with higher incomes, qualify for tax credits large enough to reduce their premiums to easily affordable levels. (1/28)