Obamacare enrollment in California surges

By Sharon Begley NEW YORK (Reuters) – California’s Obamacare insurance marketplace experienced a surge in enrollment last week, officials said on Thursday, offering welcome news for President Barack Obama’s sweeping healthcare law from a state crucial to its success. Some 144,146 applications were completed and 49,708 people selected commercial plans in the first week of December, compared to 403,323 completed applications and 109,296 enrollments in the previous two months since the Covered California marketplace opened, officials said. At that rate, California would meet its 2013 enrollment target. “This is a good day for Californians,” Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, the state’s Obamacare marketplace, told reporters.