Dec. 31, 2013 2:57 p.m. ET
More than 2.1 million Americans enrolled in private health plans on federal and state insurance exchanges as of Dec. 28, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday.
The 2.1 million figure encompasses people who have enrolled in insurance through the federal exchange, including the federal HealthCare.gov website, as well as those who enrolled through exchanges in the 14 states that are running their own marketplaces.
The figure represents a slight increase since Sunday and suggests people are continuing to sign up even after the deadline passed to have coverage starting Jan. 1.
On Sunday, the administration said 1.1 million people had enrolled in time for Jan. 1 coverage in the 36 states that are using the federal marketplace. Enrollment in the 14 states that are running their own exchanges bumped that figure up to around two million.
The deadline for enrolling in coverage that begins Jan. 1 was last week for people in most states. Some states were allowing people to sign up as late as Tuesday for coverage that begins Wednesday, New Year's Day.
Uninsured consumers have until March 31 to sign up for coverage or run the risk of being required to pay a 2014 penalty of either $95 or 1% of taxable income, whichever is greater.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in May 2013 that seven million people would enroll in new private health plans taking effect in 2014, while an additional nine million would enroll in the newly expanded Medicaid program.
By the end of November, about four million people had enrolled in Medicaid and a related children's insurance program, the administration said.
Write to Amy Schatz at Amy.Schatz@wsj.com
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