Pick A Number,Any Number

++The number of Americans that directly benefited from the ACA with signups is a staggering 19 to 26 million so far.

++Chris Weigant's talking points for Democrats is just say "and still counting". The initial phase of Obamacare has been more of a success than even the President boasts. Paul Krugman himself did his own victory lap saying that the Rube Goldberg mechanism of healthcare reform is alive and well and weirdly works.

++Blogger at Dailykos Mokurai has been tasked by Charles Gaba to keep readers posted. So let's see what the numbers look like. Brainwrap believes that the final numbers for March 31 signups will be 8.13 million,taking into account extensions. The actual final number for the day Obama announced over 7 million was 7.12 million, which exceeded the non-revised CBO projection. The Obama administration announced that 3 million were added to Medicaid.The actual number for Medicaid and CHIPS is now closer to 7 million. The sub-26s are 3.1 million but there is now dispute about this. 

++Now the unknown-unknows are off-exchange sign-ups ,where people went directly to the health insurance companies for Qualified Plans. The number right now is 9 million.

++So if you add up off-exchange,exchange,sub-26ers,Medicaid and Chips you run into the 20 million.

++There will be a lot of nitpicking as we head forward but the enormous success of Obamacare has shown the pent-up demand in the US for healthcare.

++Don't worry Paul Ryan says there is no problem with the GOP repealing it. And he says that,"Of course, health insurance companies should be able to deny customers with pre-existing conditions."

++The next real challenge will be the court fight over the subsidies to the federal exchange.

++Yes, President Obama was right, "The ACA is settled. It is here to stay." 

++Or as Joey Biden said, "This is even a bigger f**king deal."