Biden: Nearly 3M get health coverage during COVID-19 sign-up

WASHINGTON » Nearly 3 million consumers took advantage of a special sixmonth period to sign up for subsidized health insurance coverage made more affordable by the COVID-19 relief law, President Joe Biden said Wednesday.

He called that number encouraging and urged Congress to keep the trend going by extending the more generous financial assistance, currently available only through the end of next year.

“That’s 2.8 million families who will have more security, more breathing room, and more money in their pocket if an illness or accident hits home,” Biden said in a statement. “Altogether, 12.2 million Americans are actively enrolled in coverage under the Affordable Care Act — an alltime high.”

That’s an increase of about 20% since the end of last year.

Biden had ordered the HealthCare.gov marketplace to reopen Feb. 15 for six months, through Aug. 15, to give uninsured people another opportunity to sign up for coverage for themselves and their families during the pandemic. New census numbers show that about 28 million people were uninsured last year, but the steep coverage losses that many feared were averted as about 9 in 10 Americans retained private or public coverage.

HealthCare.gov plans became significantly cheaper this April due to enhanced subsidies in the COVID-19 relief law. All the while, coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program has also been growing, reaching more than 82 million people.

The Obama-era Affordable Care Act, enacted in 2010, is aimed at increasing health coverage by offering subsidized private insurance nationwide for people who do not get health care benefits from their employer. The law also expanded Medicaid for low-income adults, and most states have taken advantage of that option.