About half a million people selected a plan on healthcare.gov in the first week of open enrollment in Obamacare, a nearly 15 percent increase from the same time last year.
The first week of open enrollment saw a much greater number of people renewing their Obamacare coverage than new enrollees, according to data released Thursday by the federal government.
About 34 percent of the 543,098 people who selected a plan were new consumers, compared with 66 percent who were renewing coverage, according to the enrollment snapshot from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees healthcare.gov.
The numbers are better than last year, when 462,125 signed up in the first week.
The number of plan selections could change as some people drop out of coverage or don’t pay.
The Obama administration has set a modest goal for 2016 open enrollment, hoping to have about 10 million people pay for coverage by the end of 2016.
The enrollment goal is about the same as the amount of enrollees who have paid for their 2015 coverage.
