O-Care enrollment tops 400K in New York

More than 412,000 people in New York have enrolled in ObamaCare since October, the state’s health agency said Monday, with 31,000 people signing up in the past week alone.

Of the 412,221 total enrollees, 251,306 opted for private coverage and 160,915 people qualified for Medicaid, the government’s program for low-income individuals. Nearly 697,000 people in the state have also completed applications under ObamaCare but are not yet enrolled.

Two-thirds of the people who signed up were uninsured at the time they applied, the New York State of Health said.

{mosads}New York said it is on track to meet or exceed its enrollment goal of 1.1 million people by the end 2016.

“Activity on the site remains very high, and thousands of New Yorkers continue to enroll on NY State of Health. We are thrilled to see that more than 412,000 people have enrolled for quality, low-cost health insurance and nearly 697,000 have completed applications since the Oct. 1 launch of the marketplace. Also, 66 percent of enrolled New Yorkers were uninsured when they applied,” Donna Frescatore, executive director of NY State of Health, said in a statement.  

New Yorkers have until March 31 to enroll in coverage — otherwise, those who are uninsured will have to pay a tax penalty.

The state is one of 14 that chose to set up an exchange instead of opting into the federal portal, HealthCare.gov. 

Late last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced about 3 million people had selected a healthcare plan under ObamaCare since the law took effect on Oct. 1.