Harkin Statement on Affordable Care Act Enrollment Numbers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released enrollment numbers for the first month of the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

“I appreciate the Department’s release of detailed enrollment data.  As the Administration works through technical problems with the website’s rollout, it’s important that they be as transparent as possible.  While the numbers are not as high as everyone would like, we should all step back, take a deep breath, and recognize the significance of these numbers.  More than 100,000 people have gotten all the way through the process, and chosen a health plan through the marketplace.  Almost 400,000 have enrolled in Medicaid through the marketplace.  Those are hard facts – not rhetoric or politics.  Those numbers mean that half a million people now have health coverage because of this law. In the coming months, we will hear from even more Americans – like the stories I am hearing from Iowans – who are taking advantage of this coverage.”

As Chairman of the HELP Committee, Harkin played a pivotal role in the passage of the ACA.  He also serves as Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.

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