States Report Health Insurance Application Numbers - New York Times

Minnesota’s state-run health insurance exchange reported Wednesday that 5,569 households had completed applications for coverage in the first two weeks of operation, representing 11,684 people. The exchange portal has run relatively smoothly after struggling with technology problems for a few days after it opened on Oct. 1, said April Todd-Malmlov, the executive director.

Ms. Todd-Malmlov said that unlike other exchanges that had reported enrollment figures, Minnesota’s had seen more interest in private health plans offered through the exchange than in Medicaid, which is being expanded under President Obama’s health care law. Nearly 8,200 of the Minnesotans who completed applications between Oct. 1 and Oct. 14 were seeking private coverage, Ms. Todd-Malmlov said. Of those, about 23 percent qualified for federal subsidies to help with the cost.

In comparison, only 2,496 of those who completed applications so far, or 21 percent, qualified for Medicaid. Most of the rest either qualified for another program for low-income residents or were still waiting to find out what coverage was available to them because they filled out paper applications.

Most of those who have chosen a private health plan have not yet paid their first month’s premium, Ms. Todd-Malmlov said, but coverage does not start until Jan. 1 under the law.

In all, 12,011 accounts were created on the exchange Web site, MNsure.org, in the first two weeks of business, she said.

She said that about 96 percent of people who try to create accounts on the site are now succeeding. The rest are having trouble getting their identity verified through a process that requires the state exchange to communicate with a federal data hub.

Over the last week, the Minnesota exchange’s call center has received the most inquiries from the northern part of the state, Ms. Todd-Malmlov said.

Separately, California said Tuesday that about 94,500 applications for health insurance had been started through its exchange between Oct. 1 and Oct. 12. But exchange officials would not say how many applications had been completed in that period.