COLUMBUS, Ohio – Federal officials say 1,150 Ohio residents successfully picked health insurance plans last month through the new online marketplace created by President Barack Obama’s law.
The report released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services includes enrollment figures from Oct. 1 through Nov. 2.
HHS expected 13,000 Ohioans to sign up during the first month of operation.
Nationally, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says 106,000 people enrolled in the program, about 20 percent of the half-million the government projected would sign up by the end of October.
The data shows that more than 24,000 Ohio residents submitted paper or electronic applications for health coverage for more than 45,000 people, such as themselves, their spouses and children.
Ohio opted to let the federal government run its insurance exchange, instead of launching its own. The state is among the 36 states relying on the problem-filled federal website.
The Obama administration says fewer than 27,000 people managed to sign up for private health insurance last month in states using the site.
The state says low-income Ohioans who are newly eligible for Medicaid under an expansion of the program can start signing up for health coverage next month.
Gov. John Kasich’s administration got approval from Washington in October to extend Medicaid eligibility to those with incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level — or $15,856 for an individual. A legislative panel cleared the way for its funding about three weeks ago.
State officials said Wednesday that people can start enrolling in the expanded program on Dec. 9. Coverage starts Jan. 1.
Roughly 366,000 Ohioans would be newly eligible under the extension beginning in 2014. Some have sought to get enrolled but have been left in limbo while the state adjusts its system to begin taking new people.