Amid repeal talk, more sign up for Obamacare Data show nearly 300,000 increase from previous year

WASHINGTON - As Republicans struggle to find a way to roll back the Affordable Care Act without jeopardizing health care for tens of millions of people, Americans continue to sign up for Obamacare health plans.

As of Dec. 24, more than 11.5 million people had enrolled in a health plan through one of the insurance marketplaces created by law, including HealthCare.gov and Covered California, new federal data released Tuesday show.

That is nearly 300,000 more sign-ups than at the same point a year earlier, signaling strength in the marketplaces despite GOP criticism and uncertainty about whether Republicans will scrap them.

"Nationwide demand for health coverage is higher than ever, as Americans prove again that marketplace coverage is vital to them and their families," Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said.

The strong enrollment is complicating GOP efforts to rip apart the law, as a growing number of Republican lawmakers urge President-elect Donald Trump and GOP leaders to slow their rush to repeal it.

More than 10 GOP senators have publicly questioned the current push to repeal the law now and develop an alternative in the next several years.

And Tuesday, Senate health committee chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said on the Senate floor that repeal and replacement must be done simultaneously.

"Obamacare should be repealed finally only when there are concrete, practical reforms in place that give every American access to truly affordable health care," he said, adding that process would likely take time.

The "repeal and delay" strategy has been panned by leading patient, physician and other health care groups, which have warned it jeopardizes coverage for millions of Americans.

But Trump seemed to suggest Tuesday that Republican lawmakers should charge ahead. In an interview with the New York Times, the president-elect said a repeal vote should come "probably some time next week," and "the replace will be very quickly or simultaneously, very shortly thereafter."

Few health care experts or congressional officials believe that timeline is realistic, as there is no consensus among Republicans about how to replace the law. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., deflected questions about when and if replacement legislation would be ready soon.

Meanwhile, Obama administration officials have been urging Americans to continue signing up for health plans even as the administration prepares to hand over control of the marketplaces following Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration.

But many consumers are worried, and officials said Tuesday that federal call centers have fielded more than 35,000 calls from Americans who have asked if they will have coverage next year under a Trump administration.

The coverage expansion has recorded historic gains in the last three years, as more than 20 million previously uninsured Americans gained health insurance and the nation's uninsured rate dropped to the lowest level ever recorded.

Many of these Americans have low incomes and rely on Medicaid, which has been expanded through the health law.

About 11 million got commercial health plans last year through HealthCare.gov and similar state-based insurance marketplaces created through the law. More than 80 percent of these consumers receive government subsidies to offset the cost of their premiums.

The open-enrollment period continues through Jan. 31, and consumers have until Sunday to sign up for coverage that starts Feb. 1.

noam.levey@latimes.com

Credit: By Noam N. Levey - Washington Bureau