The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that 751 residents in Missouri and only 371 Kansas residents selected a health insurance plan through a federally run online marketplace during its first, glitch-plagued month in operation.
HHS released the figures Wednesday. The department said the insurance exchange had about 6,100 completed applications from Kansas from Oct. 1 to Nov. 2. Those applications sought coverage for about 12,000 people. Missouri had just over 14,000 completed applications for approximately 28, 000 individuals.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated earlier this year that 363,000 of the state’s 2.8 million residents had no health insurance. The federal health care overhaul set up online marketplaces to help people find affordable insurance, but the rollout of the HHS website has been rocky from the start.
The federal government did not say how many of the people selecting a health plan started paying premiums.