State Health Exchange Enrollments Surge

State health insurance exchanges created under the Affordable Care Act are experiencing a surge in enrollments, according to reports.  Monday is the deadline for enrollment in a health plan for it to take effect on January 1, and many are rushing to sign up:  California reports 50,000 new enrollees in the first week of December, New York is averaging 4,500 enrollees per day, and overall States are reporting from 30 to 40 percent increases in enrollments.

This promising news comes at the same time that the Administration is responding to nervous Democratic Senators who asked for a temporary exemption to the individual mandate for those who lost their insurance because their plans did not meet the minimum standards under the ACA.  Some 500,000 people who had their policies cancelled will be able to get bare-bones coverage under a hardship provision.