New Yorkers who don't have health insurance, or who have coverage that expires at the end of the month, have one more week to sign up for insurance on the NY State of Health exchange that kicks in Jan. 1.
The deadline to sign up on the state exchange for insurance that takes effect at the start of 2014 originally was set for Friday but was moved to Dec. 23 to give people more time to get through the enrollment process.
State officials have praised the performance of website for the exchange, which has enrolled 134,622 New Yorkers as of 9 a.m. today. Of those, 95,196 have enrolled in a private insurance plan and 39,426 qualified for Medicaid. Another 228,636 people have finished the application process but still must select a plan in which to enroll, according to the state.
State Department of Health officials have yet to release a breakdown of the enrollment data by region, by insurer or by demographic details, so it's hard to know what to make of the enrollment number. Nor have they given any indication when they will be able to release this additional information.
---Stephen T. Watson