Enrollment for 2024 Obamacare plans 33% higher than last year

A boy waits in line at a health insurance enrollment event in Cudahy, California

(Reuters) - More than 15.3 million Americans have signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for 2024, a 33% increase from this time last year, according to data released by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Wednesday.

The Biden-Harris Administration said preliminary data also projects that over 19 million people will enroll in 2024 through the ACA marketplace.

People who want to choose a healthcare plan for 2024 under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, can enroll before the deadline of Jan. 16, 2024. The law was former U.S. President Barack Obama's signature piece of domestic legislation.

Consumers who enroll before the deadline will have coverage that starts from Feb. 1, 2024. Those who want to be covered as of Jan. 1 would have had to choose a plan by Dec. 15.

Data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month showed nearly 7.3 million Americans had signed up for health insurance so far for next year through the ACA marketplace.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)