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More than 2 million people have signed up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act’s online marketplaces since Feb. 15, taking advantage of the Biden administration’s extended period for open enrollment that began on that day, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Wednesday. That figure means total marketplace enrollment is probably at an all-time high, while the number of uninsured Americans may be at an all-time low. In both cases, a big reason would be a set of temporary improvements to the Affordable Care Act that President Joe Biden and Democrats are now trying to make permanent. (Cohn, 7/14)

Total enrollment in the Obamacare marketplaces is now at a record high, though the final numbers are not yet available, said Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, in a call with reporters. The previous high was 12.7 million Americans who selected plans in 2016. (Sanger-Katz, 7/14)

The report includes the 600,000 people who signed up for a plan on one of the 15 state-based exchanges, who were not included in last month's report that found 1.2 million people had selected a plan on the federal HealthCare.gov website. As of the end of last month, that number rose to 1.5 million. (McIntire, 7/14)

In addition, among new and returning consumers who have selected a plan since April 1, some 1.2 million, or 34%, picked policies that cost $10 or less per month when factoring in the enhanced premium subsidies made available by the Democrats' $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. About 2.5 million enrollees have returned to the exchange to see what's available, CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said. (Luhby, 7/14)

When asked whether the enrollment period would be extended, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said, “that’s something we can discuss.” “The president obviously is very interested in getting as many Americans as possible to sign up,” he said. “Clearly, the record numbers that are taking advantage of the special enrollment period show that folks are interested, I don't believe the president wants to leave anyone behind. And so we'll take a close look.” (Coleman, 7/14)