More than 9.5 million people have signed up for 2015
individual health insurance on the new exchanges created under the national
healthcare reform law, the U.S. government said on Tuesday, a number that
surpasses its enrollment target for the year. The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services said it had signed up or automatically enrolled more than 7.1
million people on its HealthCare.gov website through Jan. 16. The federally run
site covers 37 states.
Another 2.4 million people selected a plan or were
automatically enrolled in the other 13 states plus Washington D.C., which run
their own websites. That data is through Jan. 18 for California and through
Jan. 17 for the District and the other states. The enrollment period for 2015
coverage opened on Nov. 15 and ends on Feb. 15.
The administration announced in April that more than 8
million people had selected 2014 plans. But by the end of last year, only 6.7
million were still enrolled. Eighty-seven percent of federal marketplace
applicants used financial assistance in selecting a plan, according to HHS.
The administration said 35 percent of federal applicants
were under 35 years of age. Fifty-eight percent, or 4.2 million people,
re-enrolled from 2014 health plans, while the remainder were first-time
applicants.
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