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More than 8 million people have signed up for coverage next year under former President Barack Obama's health care law, the government said Friday, a sign of continued demand for the program amid persistent uncertainty over its future. Preliminary numbers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services showed that 8.3 million people enrolled from Nov. 1-Dec. 17, about 2 percent fewer than last year. The final number will be higher after states that run their own sign-up drives report their results. National totals are usually released in March. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/20)

“We are reporting that for the third year in a row enrollment in the Federal Exchange remained stable,” said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma. “Far from undermining the Affordable Care Act – as some hysterical and inaccurate claims would have it – the Trump Administration is making the very best of what remains a failed experiment.” (Sullivan, 12/20)

The enrollment snapshot shows a marginal increase in newcomers buying insurance through the federal marketplace — now just over 2 million. The Trump administration has been trying to dismantle the law yet has vowed to run a smooth enrollment system as long as the statute exists. On Friday, a top administration health official said the enrollment tally shows the insurance exchange is stable. (Goldstein, 12/20)

These numbers are preliminary and do not represent final 2020 Exchange Open Enrollment figures, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said. On Monday, the CMS extended the deadline for enrollment via the website by three days to Dec. 18 after people faced technical issues during the final hours of the enrollment deadline. (12/20)

For 2020, the average premium for the benchmark plan dropped 4% -- the second year in a row of lower rates -- while 20 more insurers are offering policies, bringing the total to 175. While the Trump administration is claiming credit for stabilizing the exchanges, industry experts say insurers have raised rates high enough in recent years to make selling plans on the exchanges a profitable business. A dozen states have also instituted "reinsurance" plans, which help reduce premiums because they shield insurers from high-cost patients. (Luhby, 12/20)

In recent years, the Trump administration also slashed the open enrollment budget for advertising and in-person assistance, while cutting the sign-up period in half. Pervasive confusion among Americans about the status of the healthcare exchanges amid repeated challenges to the ACA have also likely contributed to decreased enrollment. (Livingston, 12/20)

This year, 44,496 New Hampshire residents enrolled in a health insurance plan on Healthcare.gov during the open enrollment period, just slightly lower than the 44,581 who bought insurance in the individual marketplace last year. Nationally, 8.3 million people got coverage in the insurance marketplace this year: 2.1 million people signed up for the first time, and 6.2 million renewed their plans. (12/22)

Less than an hour after an appeals court invalidated part of the Affordable Care Act and pushed off a decision on the rest of it, congressional Democrats began punching, accusing President Trump and his party of imperiling Americans’ insurance and consumer health protections. But on a debate stage Thursday night, Democrats vying for their party’s nomination for president did not mention the major court decision. (Goldstein and Sullivan, 12/20)

The federal government finalized a rule on Friday that requires health insurers selling plans on the Affordable Care Act exchanges to send enrollees a separate bill for the portion of premiums that go toward abortion coverage. Additionally, the rule ramps up oversight of the federal and state-run health exchanges to ensure patients receiving federal subsidies are eligible. The CMS said the rule is meant to save taxpayer dollars and better inform individuals about their coverage. But experts have argued—and the CMS has acknowledged—that the changes would impose significant burdens on insurers and their customers. (Livingston, 12/20)