Obamacare's most controversial feature-the requirement that nearly all Americans have health coverage this year or pay a fine-may not have been a big motivator for the more than 7 million people who signed up for new insurance plans, several analysts said a week after the close of open enrollment.

And even if Obamacare's so-called individual mandate spurred a solid chunk of those enrollments, the law's true power will be really felt in coming years, when the penalty escalates and many millions of people more are spurred to sign up because of financial concerns, those experts said.

"I don't think it was really a big driver" this year, said Matt Eyles, executive vice president of the Avalere Health consultancy, about the mandate. "I think it only had an impact on the margins."

"It was the carrot, not the stick," Eyles said, of what motivated people to enroll, noting that the Obama administration and Affordable Care Act advocates emphasized the new plans' benefits and not the penalties in their massive outreach efforts.

 Eyles added, the mandate's financial hit to people who don't comply is "weak," and typically will cost less than the new insurance premiums they would have to pay to comply.

Under Obamacare, most people must have some kind of health-care coverage-through their employer, the individual insurance market, Medicare or Medicaid-by March 31 of this year or pay a tax penalty next year. That penalty is equal to $95 or 1 percent of a person's taxable income, whichever is higher.

To help people comply with the mandate, the ACA established government-run health exchanges to sell private insurance to individuals and families. Those exchanges saw a flood of more than 3 million people in just the last month of open enrollment, bringing total sign-ups to more than 7 million.

Christina LaMontagne, a health cost analyst for the price-comparison site NerdWallet, said that penalty "wasn't really that significant" in getting people to enroll, from what her company heard in interviews it did with people exploring their insurance options.

Instead, LaMontagne said, "We heard people saying they really valued health insurance ... we heard again, and again and again that people wanted health insurance, and they were sick of finding these short-term solutions."

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A statement by Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Nicole Lurie, M.D.

Organizations and people across the country are encouraged to participate.  America's PrepareAthon is a new campaign to increase every community's ability to withstand disasters.

In 2012, natural disasters caused more than 450 weather-related fatalities and nearly 2,600 injuries. Every disaster holds the potential to impact health, but most people are still unprepared for emergencies. In the 2012 Federal Emergency Management Agency National Survey, only 39 percent of people reported having a household emergency plan, which included instructions for household members on where to go and what to do in an emergency.

This spring, America's PrepareAthon! will focus on learning how to protect yourself and your family, how to help your co-workers, and how to participate in community plans for emergencies such as tornadoes, floods, hurricanes and wildfires. This targeted national call to action highlights simple, specific steps individuals and organizations should take to increase their preparedness for a potential local disaster.

When we prepare and practice for an emergency in advance of the event, it makes a real difference in the whole community's ability to take immediate and informed action. In turn, this enables everyone impacted to recover more quickly. In addition, participating in drills, exercises, and trainings help establish brain patterns that support quick and effective action during an emergency.

America's PrepareAthon! provides instructions for educational discussions and simple drills for a range of disasters. The instructions will help employees, students, and organization members understand which disasters could happen in the community, what to do to stay safe, and how to take action to prepare and participate in making one's community more resilient.

In addition, the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has developed a video gameand a video to help health care providers with disaster preparedness.

Building and sustaining resilience is a shared responsibility. It takes a whole community working together to prepare for, respond to, and recover effectively from the destructive forces of nature and other emergencies.

Your organization can find preparedness guides and resources to help your workplace, school, house of worship, community-based organization, and the whole community practice specific preparedness activities necessary to stay safe before, during, and after an emergency.

Learn more, visit www.ready.gov/prepare. 

Further Reading:

New National Biodefense Science Board members to advise HHS