23 December 2016 - Republican critics of the Affordable Care Act have long described it as a house of cards on the verge of collapse. And they continue to be wrong. 

A record number of people have signed up for health insurance for 2017 on the federal exchanges created by the 2010 law.

Nearly 6.4 million people had signed up for coverage as of Monday, which is about 400,000 more than at a similar point last year. Among them were two million people who did not participate in 2016, some of whom might have previously been covered through an employer. The number of enrolees does not include many millions of people whose policies will be automatically renewed or who live in states like California, Minnesota and New York that have their own marketplaces.

By the time open enrolment ends early next year, the Department of Health and Human Services estimates 13.8 million people will have signed up nationwide. The percentage of Americans without insurance is steadily declining, hitting a record low of 9.1% in 2015, the most recent year reported.

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