February 2021 ACA policy enrollment – 11.3 million:
Overall, 31 million people were enrolled in marketplace or Medicaid expansion coverage under the ACA. This includes 11.3 [million] marketplace enrollees with effectuated coverage as of February 2021, 14.8 million Medicaid expansion enrollees as of December 2020, an additional 3.9 million Medicaid expansion enrollees who would have been eligible for Medicaid pre-ACA but were enrolled via Medicaid expansion, and 1 million Basic Health Program (BHP) enrollees in Minnesota and New York.
Source: Record High ACA Enrollment At 31 Million Americans | Health Affairs
September 2021 Biden says 12.2 million are enrolled, an increase of 2.8 million.
“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 all-time high.”
Source: 2.8 million get health coverage during special Covid-19 sign up
Here is the official White House press release.
The actual increase was 900,000, not 2.8 million.
It appears the White House is counting both new enrollees and those who merely changed from one ACA policy to another but who were already covered under the ACA.
We are on an ACA plan and used the summer enrollment period to change from an existing ACA plan to a different ACA plan. We are not new enrollees but are apparently counted as such.
It seems the White House is inflating the number by counting those who changed plans – producing a fictitious figure of 2.8 million new enrollees.
FYI an unsubsidized Bronze plan for my wife and I costs $18,000/year or $1,500/month and has an $8,150 deductible. An unsubsidized Silver plan costs $24,000/year or $2,000/month and has a $5,000 deductible. This is called “affordable”. Only one insurer on the exchange offers policies that provide coverage outside our local region. That means, for most policies, if you are traveling in the United States you have NO COVERAGE for hospitalization or surgery – this is not an “out of network” issue – the policies say they only cover ER treatment but provide no benefits, not even at the 50% out of network level, if you are hospitalized or require surgery.
