Despite the Trump administration’s efforts to scale back the health law, about 300,000 more people have signed up for health insurance in the Affordable Care Act marketplaces in the first weeks of this enrollment period than last year.

First two weeks of Healthcare.gov enrollment 1.5 million 2018 2017 2016 1.0 2015 0.5 WEEK 1 WEEK 2 credit:

But it’s still early in the 2018 enrollment period, and people who sign up early are often those who need health care the most.

Cumulative Healthcare.gov enrollment 10.0 million 2016 2017 2015 7.5 5.0 Chart shown above 2.5 2018 WEEK 1 WEEK 6 WEEK 13 Note: The Obama administration extended the enrollment period by one week in 2015 to allow more time to sign up.

Because the Trump administration cut the enrollment period in half this year, to 45 days from three months, weekly sign-ups would need to almost double to match the number of sign-ups in previous years.

The deadline to sign up this year is Dec. 15 in most states. Last enrollment period, it was Jan. 31.

Cumulative Healthcare.gov enrollment 10.0 million 2016 2017 2015 7.5 5.0 2.5 2018 When enrollment period ends this year WEEK 1 WEEK 6 WEEK 13

There are usually two spikes during the enrollment period: one in the middle and one near the end. The first spike is from people signing up before the end of the calendar year in order to get coverage that starts on Jan. 1.

The final spike tends to have a higher share of young and healthy people, who are more likely to sign up as a result of outreach and advertising. These two groups are also crucial to the health law’s success because they help balance out the cost of insuring the old and sick.

Weekly Healthcare.gov enrollment 4 million 3 2 Ads canceled 1 2018 2015 2016 2017

During the last enrollment period, the Trump administration canceled ads days before the deadline, and the enrollment spike wilted compared with past years.

Research has shown that repeated television advertising increases enrollment.