The president says 500,000 enrolled through the federal exchange. Obama: 1M new insured in December

More than one million Americans signed up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act during the first three weeks of December, including 500,000 through the federal exchange, President Barack Obama announced Friday.

The president mentioned the numbers during the opening remarks of his year-end press conference at the White House, and pointed to them as evidence that despite early problems with HealthCare.gov, the process of implementing the health care law is now going more smoothly.


“All told, millions of Americans, despite the problems with the website, are now poised to be covered by quality affordable health insurance come New Year’s Day,” Obama said.

( Understanding Obamacare: POLITICO’s guide to the ACA)

“Now, this holiday season there are mothers and fathers and entrepreneurs and workers who have something new to celebrate: the security of knowing that when the unexpected or misfortune strikes, hardship no longer has to,” he continued. “And you add that all up and what it means is: We head into next year with an economy that’s stronger than it was when we started the year.”