By Jerry Geisel, Crain News Service
WASHINGTON (Jan. 29, 2016) — Enrollment keeps increasing in the federal health insurance exchange and now tops 8.9 million, according to the latest U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) report.
Of the 8.94 million individuals who selected exchange coverage between Nov. 1 and Jan. 23, 103,172 opted for coverage between Jan. 17 and Jan. 23.
Enrollment in the federal exchange, according to the CMS report released Jan. 27, is significantly higher compared with about the same period a year ago. From Nov. 15, 2014, through Jan. 23, 2015, nearly 7.3 million individuals had enrolled in plans offered through the exchange.
Of the 38 states in which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services operates the exchange, the most enrollees during the first 12 weeks of open enrollment were in Florida, where 1.62 million individuals opted for coverage followed by Texas with 1.17 million and North Carolina with 575,374.
States with the smallest exchange enrollment include Hawaii with 13,194, North Dakota, 20,393 and Alaska, 21,853.
The 2016 open enrollment season ends Jan. 31.
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This report appeared on the website of Business Insurance magazine, a Chicago-based sister publication of Tire Business.