Only 7,000 Illinoisans enroll in Obamacare plans in first 2 months

Through two months of open enrollment in new health insurance plans created under President Barack Obama’s health care law, nearly 365,000 Americans have selected policies, including 7,043 in Illinois, administration officials said Wednesday.

The numbers, which include sign-ups from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, are still short of the roughly 500,000 the Obama administration estimated would sign up in October alone, the first month of the new health insurance exchanges designed for consumers to compare and purchase health coverage.

Officials did not break out enrollment figures by month, a decision they said would eliminate double-counting some consumers, who may apply, shop and select plans in separate months. Through Oct. 31, 106,000 Americans, including 1,370 in Illinois, selected policies, according to figures released last month.

The relatively low figures underscore the tumultuous first two months of HealthCare.gov, the federal website that operates the online marketplaces for 36 states, including Illinois, which has been beset by technical problems that prevented many from completing applications.  Peter Frost has the story in the Chicago Tribune.