More than 106,000 U.S. residents have selected health insurance plans, but only 27,000 did so through the flawed HealthCare.gov, during the first month of enrollment through the U.S. government's Affordable Care Act.
About 79,000 of the 106,000 enrollments in health insurance plans came through insurance marketplaces run by 15 states, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HealthCare.gov, the malfunctioning website launched Oct. 1, allows residents of other states to enroll in new health coverage.
Officials in President Barack Obama's administration have been saying they expected low enrollment numbers in the first weeks after enrollments began, based on the experience of Massachusetts, which has a similar health insurance program.
With an estimated 47 million U.S. residents without health insurance, the number of enrollees so far represents a small fraction of those eligible for health insurance under the so-called Obamacare law passed in 2010. Residents who want health insurance to start Jan. 1 must sign up by Dec. 15, but open enrollment in the new plans extends into March.
In addition to the 106,000 enrollees, another 975,000 U.S. residents have applied for insurance and met eligibility requirements, but have not yet selected coverage, HHS said Wednesday. The agency has found another 396,000 people eligible for two other insurance programs, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.
An estimated 26.8 million people have visited HealthCare.gov or the state marketplace websites since the insurance shopping program launched Oct. 1, HHS said. An additional 3.2 million people have called state or federal call centers.
Grant Gross covers technology and telecom policy in the U.S. government for The IDG News Service. Follow Grant on Twitter at GrantGross. Grant's email address is grant_gross@idg.com.