Approximately 8.8 million people purchased coverage through the ACA despite a shortened enrollment period, CMS announced.
Here's what you should know:
1. CMS called this year's open enrollment the "most cost effective and smooth enrollment experience for consumers, releasing data that shows [this year had] the highest rates of consumer satisfaction to date, at a lower cost."
2. Consumer demand spiked in the last days of open enrollment, but CMS said both HealthCare.gov and the call center were able to handle the demand optimally.
3. CMS, at the urging of President Donald Trump and Congress, cut the ACA marketing budget by $90 million and shortened the open enrollment period from 2016. Despite these actions, enrollment only declined 4 percent year-over-year.
4. Reuters reports although enrollment was slightly lower, the total enrollment number "was higher than expected in lights of steps taken by President Donald Trump and Congress to undermine the 2010 law."
5. States that run their own exchanges continue to sell insurance through them, and some have deadlines as late as Jan. 31, 2018.