While nearly 5,700 Ohio residents have selected a health insurance plan on the federal market place, many more are expected to sign up, according to federal data released Wednesday.
More than 51,000 Ohioans have completed the lengthy application process for themselves, spouses and children, according to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services release.
And for Cathy Levine, executive director of the advocacy group Universal Healthcare Action Network of Ohio, those numbers are promising.
"I think Ohio is doing pretty well but we've got some room for improvement. I think overall these numbers are very promising because numbers went up a lot from October to November and we know they are going to go up much higher in December," Levine says.
Ohio is among the 36 states relying on the federal website, healthcare.gov. When the troubled website wasn't working properly in October, just 1,150 Ohioans managed to select a plan. The report shows among all states using the federal site, more than 137,000 have enrolled. That's up from fewer than 27,000 in October.
The report details enrollment numbers as of Nov. 30. Consumers face a Dec. 23 enrollment deadline if they want coverage on Jan. 1.