Health Care

Backpedal on ObamaCare’s ‘ 7 million’

WASHINGTON — The White House on Monday downplayed its stated goal of getting 7 million people enrolled in ObamaCare by the end of March — arguing that what really matters is the mix of people who sign up.

The administration, however, has yet to release data on the composition of the new enrollees, such as the number of young people who have signed up for coverage.

Noting that the 7 million figure originated from a nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimate, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday, “Some estimates were lower and some were higher . . . There’s not some magic number.”

So far about 2 million people have signed up. But This past fall, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appeared to embrace the estimate when she told NBC, “I think success looks like at least 7 million people having signed up by the end of March 2014.”