The Affordable Care Act’s second open enrollment period is entering its third week, and so far over a million Americans have applied for health insurance on the federal exchange.
Officials in New Mexico are also reporting progress in enrollment, after a problematic rollout last year.
Cecilia Muñoz, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council and one of President Obama’s senior advisors on health care, says the problems that besieged consumers in 2013 seem to have been resolved.
“Folks around the country have learned lessons from last year’s experience,” Muñoz said. “We know there’s a lot of demand for health coverage, we know that the prices are good. By all accounts the process is running much more smoothly this year and a lot of people are signing up.”
Muñoz said the Obama administration is undertaking a special outreach effort to the country’s Hispanic population. That group has had some of the lowest health coverage rates historically.
Whether this initial optimism pans out remains to be seen. Open enrollment ends February 15, 2015.
