Roughly 500,000 fewer people have selected coverage on the main Obamacare website than at this point last year, the administration reported Wednesday, meaning sign-ups continue to lag heading into the final days of 2019 enrollment.
More than 4.1 million people had selected a plan on HealthCare.gov through Dec. 8, including nearly 1 million in the preceding week, as interest picked up ahead of the sixth and final week of sign-ups. The deadline for much of the country is Saturday.
Still, the marketplace is struggling to match last year’s pace, when roughly 4.6 million people had chosen coverage through the fifth week of enrollment.
Analysts have offered a number of theories on why enrollment is down this year, despite newer plan choices and premiums that are rising modestly, or going down in some places.
President Trump expanded the availability of cheaper, skimpier alternatives for people who feel premiums have grown too high on Obamacare’s web-based exchanges.
He also prodded congressional Republicans to zap the law’s “individual mandate” requiring people to get covered or pay a tax, while slashing the budget for HealthCare.gov outreach and in-person enrollment assistance.
Democrats say the efforts amount to “sabotage,” though Republicans counter the program is fatally flawed and unable to attract the type of new, healthy enrollees needed to make the program thrive.
Enrollment might also be down because the 2010 Affordable Care Act isn’t dominating the headlines quite as much this year, even if it served as a useful campaign tool for Democrats. Some analysts say the constant focus on Obamacare in 2017, as GOP repeal efforts sputtered, might have brought more customers into the fold last round.
Health Secretary Alex M. Azar II on Wednesday offered another theory for why the numbers are lagging.
Obamacare customers who do not actively select a plan will be auto-enrolled in 2019 coverage. But they don’t show up in the tally “until the last minute in the system,” Mr. Azar told a health care event hosted by Axios.
Premiums stabilized and insurers didn’t flee the markets this year, so there could be a bevy of customers who didn’t feel the need to log onto HealthCare.gov and seek out a better deal. A big crop of auto-enrollments might put the website closer to its final tally of 8.8 million customers last year.
The federal website covers 39 states without their own enrollment portals. Many of the states operating their own websites are giving residents extra time to sign up, in some cases until Jan. 31.
Activity on HealthCare.gov did spike earlier this week, after former President Barack Obama posted a Twitter video encouraging people to seek out coverage under his signature law.
The clip is reminiscent of silly videos he crafted as president to get young people interested in the program, though Mr. Obama said he didn’t need gimmicks anymore.
“This year, I’m giving it to you straight. Sign up for health insurance on HealthCare.gov before Dec. 15th,” Mr. Obama says to the camera, as cartoonish sunglasses and a rainbow landscape slide into the frame.
“You’ve got a filter on me, don’t you?” Mr. Obama quips.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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