Jan. 24 (Bloomberg) — About 800,000 people signed up for private health plans through Obamacare in January, pushing total enrollment to 3 million as negative perceptions about the program give way to more practical needs.

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, touted the January figures in a speech today in Jacksonville, Florida, which add to the 2.2 million who enrolled from Oct. 1 through December. Her agency later said in a blog post that "as our outreach efforts kick into even higher gear, we anticipate these numbers will continue to grow."

The acceleration may indicate increased familiarity and interest in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act among people who previously had heard only of its problems, said Ron Pollack, executive director of the advocacy group Families USA. Public opinion about Obamacare plunged after the Oct. 1 debut of the insurance exchanges greeted consumers with website breakdowns, higher prices and potentially broken promises.