ACA enrollment: A weak week

The first numbers are out for this year’s ACA marketplace open enrollment season, which kicked off on November 1. During the first two days, 177,082 people enrolled in a health plan through HealthCare.gov–a significant decrease from last year’s 371,676.

There are several factors at play, however–for one, last year’s initial “week” of signups lasted three days instead of two. In addition, several enrollees were stymied by technical glitches resulting in error messages, according the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The error has since been fixed, CMS has said.

Related: What factors drove Obamacare signups in 2018?

It will be interesting to see how the final totals shake out when the enrollment window ends on December 15 (for the 38 states participating in the federal exchange). The loss of the individual mandate and the legal challenges seeking to invalidate the ACA could lead many to skip the exchanges this year.

Still, ACA premiums decreased, on average, 4 percent for 2020 plans, potentially making coverage more affordable and appealing for some individuals.

Take a look at the breakdown of numbers coming out of the first “week” of ACA signups for 2020:

Read more: 

• New ‘super broker’ system cuts HealthCare.gov out of the ACA signup process
• 6 states move to set up their own ACA marketplaces
• More than half of American families could feel the impact if the ACA is overturned