Universal coverage won't be realized for some time, report finds

Though the goal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may be to provide insurance benefits to everyone, it will likely be a "long process" before that goal is reached, according to the conclusions of a new report.

Researchers from the nonpartisan public policy organization RAND recently determined that because the ACA uses an "opt-in" approach to insuring people - where individuals actually have to be proactive about securing a plan for themselves - universal coverage likely won't transpire any time soon.

"These modest early enrollment numbers are not a huge surprise, and are roughly in line with analysts' expectations," the report stated, citing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' numbers that 2.1 million people had enrolled in an ACA qualified health plan as of December. "What they underscore is that the voluntary path to universal coverage will be a long one, and may plateau well shy of the goal."

HHS set a goal of insuring approximately 7 million people by March 31, which has been widely reported.

On CBS' "Face the Nation," Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin told host Bob Schieffer that 10 million people had health insurance thanks to the ACA. However, The Washington Post reported the statistic cited was inaccurate.