Early Affordable Care Act enrollment falls sharply

Affordable Care Act enrollment is off to a slow start this year. Roughly 370,000 people chose insurance plans through HealthCare.gov in the first three days of enrollment — a big drop from more than 600,000 in the first four days of the last enrollment period.

Why it matters: Things can change before the enrollment window ends on Dec. 15, and sign-ups usually spike closer to that deadline. But this is not a strong early indicator. If total enrollment falls, the mix of healthy versus sick enrollees will likely get worse.