The total of Americans gaining health insurance through Obamacare has been revised to 17.6 million – a mark more than 1 million higher than previously believed.
In a speech at Howard University on Tuesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell said new data shows the uninsured rate dropped 10.3 percent among African-Americans and 11.5 percent among Hispanics, as 2.6 million and 4 million signed up, respectively,
USA Today reports.
The revised total also includes 2.3 million young adults who gained coverage because they were able to remain on a parent's plan until they turn 26.
The newest figure, which is based on national survey data, shows 1.2 million more people have
signed up for healthcare over the last five years than the 16.4 million previously reported.
The Hill reports the new information also puts the Obama administration ahead of the roughly 17 million gains from both Obamacare and Medicaid it had estimated by 2015.
Burwell's speech comes ahead of the fall's open enrollment period for Obamacare starting Nov. 1.
She acknowledged the enrollment effort will be "tougher" than the previous two seasons, and that HHS will specifically target Dallas, Houston, northern New Jersey, Chicago, and Miami, where the highest numbers of uninsured who are eligible for coverage, USA Today reports.
"The questions that surrounded this law a year ago have all been answered," she said, The Hill reports. "Now we have a new opportunity in front of us — building on this progress."
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