Jay Carney: The 7 Million Enrollment Number for ObamaCare Wasn’t Our Estimate

GARRETT: “You just said that the aggregate number at the end of March is less important than the demographic mix. Why is the Administration backing away from the 7 million person enrollment figure that Kathleen Sebelius, Marilyn Tavenner, and various other incarnations said was a goal, a legitimate and reachable goal?”

CARNEY: “What I would say, Major, is that the 7 million estimate was a CBO figure from earlier this year on how many people they thought would come in during the first enrollment period. Some estimates were lower and some were higher. This is the first time this has been done, obviously, so it's hard to predict what that number would be. It’s important to understand that it is not -- there is not some magic number -- 6,999,999 and the system collapses, one more than that and it functions perfectly. The issue, obviously, is there has to be some volume. Some estimates have been as low as 2 million. But what that makeup looks like, both demographically and geographically -- so all of these issues are important. We are not backing away from a number that we didn't put out originally. I think that others noted that 7 million is a fine target. But that will not determine whether the marketplace is functioning effectively."