The number of people enrolled in Obamacare stands at 7.5 million -- an increase of 400,000 since the Obama administration announced it surpassed its April 1 target , Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told the Senate Finance Committee Thursday . The White House confirmed the increase in the number of people who have signed up on federal or state exchanges for coverage under the Affordable Care Act . President Barack Obama announced on April 1 that 7.1 million people had enrolled , surpassing the administration 's goal of 7 million enrollments by that date . That was a surprising victory for the administration after a rocky rollout of the program , which has become a political hot potato for Democrats and a rallying cry for Republicans . The enrollment period began anemically in October with a faltering federal website . But signs of a pickup began in late January and continued into February and early March despite a fierce campaign by Republicans to demonize the law as unworkable .
Enrollment grew by half since it announced it surpassed April 1 deadline . Sign - ups steadily increased after rocky years . Republicans are still opposed to the Affordable Care Act .