Things didn’t look promising for the Affordable Care Act enrollment numbers in the beginning of March. Reports estimated that one sign up must be completed every 1.4 seconds in order to reach the enrollment goal of 6 million. As of March 1, 2014, sign-ups were sitting at 4.2 million. The enrollment period concludes March 31.

However, the pace is quickening. A rush of sign-ups occurred within the first two weeks of March bringing the enrollment numbers to over 5 million. If enrollment keeps up, the Obama administration may come close to 6 million within the first year. Before the ill-fated healthcare.gov rollout, the administration hoped to achieve 7 million sign-ups. The number has been adjusted to address the numerous technical issues.

The information on demographics has not been released. To keep consumer costs down, it’s imperative that a mix of young and old participate in the insurance marketplace. As of last month, it seemed as if only 25% of health insurance buyers fell into the 18-34 age range. Without the young and healthy, insurance premiums are anticipated to rise in 2015. Insurers and experts predict a variety of factors to raise premiums, including the administration’s decision to allow people to hold onto skimpy plans and other delays that accompanied the botched rollout.