Dive Brief:

• A whopping 87% of people who picked out 2015 plans through the HealthCare.gov insurance exchange in first month of open enrollment are getting financial assistance to lower their monthly premiums, according to a report released by the Department of Health and Human Services. 
• The report, which provides the first detailed analysis of enrollment in the marketplaces for the first month of the 2015 open enrollment period, notes that this is an increase from last year, when 80% of enrollees who selected plans qualified for lower monthly premiums. 
• HHS' Weekly Enrollment Snapshot shows that from November 15 to December 26, nearly 6.5 million consumers selected a plan or were automatically re-enrolled in Obamacare. 

Dive Insight:

While it appears that Healthcare.gov is reeling in new consumers, the fact that almost nine out of ten of them are requiring some kind of financial assistance points to the fact that healthcare has become even less affordable than ever before.

This is important to keep in mind as the US Supreme Court prepares to her King v. Burwell, which could affect premium subsidies for consumers in 37 states. 

According to HHS, 33% of enrollees were under 35 years of age compared to 29% in the early months of the first open enrollment period. Also: Nearly 1 million consumers selected a plan in the three days leading up to December 15, representing 28% of total plan selections from November 15 through December 15.