Most new ObamaCare enrollees are from states Donald Trump won

A UniVista Insurance company office where people can sign up for health care plans.
(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The deadline for signing up for Jan. 1 health insurance though HealthCare.gov, the federal website for the Affordable Care Act, was Monday, and 400,000 more people have signed up this year than last, the Obama administration said Wednesday. In all, 6.4 million people have signed up for ObamaCare coverage this year — not counting state-run exchanges in California, New York, and other states — and customer still have until Jan. 31 to enroll for 2017 coverage. President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to repeal ObamaCare, won all of the top five states with the most enrollees on the federal site: Florida (1.3 million), Texas (776,000), North Carolina (369,000), and Pennsylvania (291,000).

"Today's enrollment numbers confirm that doomsday predictions about the marketplace are wrong," said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell. Some Republicans and ObamaCare critics disagreed. "Initial enrollment numbers for the health law have long been flawed, as they do not account for consumers who actually follow through and pay the premiums," said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. "A closer look will be needed down the road to determine the final, real enrollment numbers."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.