About 15,000 Oklahomans have signed up for private health insurance through the Affordable Care Act's federal exchange, according to information released Monday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Another 6,476 Oklahoma applicants were found eligible for Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.
The figures are for Oct. 1 through Dec. 28. Individuals had to sign up by Dec. 23 to be guaranteed coverage beginning Jan. 1, and the deadline to avoid a tax penalty is March 31.
The deadline affects those who do not have health insurance and are not exempt from the so-called individual mandate.
Nationally, nearly 2.2 million Americans have selected an insurance policy through either a state or federal exchange. Almost a quarter of those are in California, where nearly 500,000 have signed up.
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Health and Human Services' latest report indicates the number of Oklahomans actually buying health insurance through the federal exchange increased nine-fold in December, but it remains far short of the 256,000 analysts predicted would get coverage before the March 31 deadline.
Oklahoma has an estimated 624,000 people without health insurance.
Monday's report came out as ACA opponents rallied Oklahomans to another round of protests and resistance tactics. A Tulsa tea party group was counseled on the subject Monday night by state Insurance Commissioner John Doak, state Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, and state Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Arcadia. A series of protests against the ACA's financial penalties kicked off Saturday in Woodward.
According to Health and Human Services, Oklahomans have completed 32,908 applications covering 51,623 individuals. Of those, 44,423 were eligible to enroll. A little more than 20,000 were eligible for financial assistance in the form of premium subsidies.
Seventy-two percent of Oklahomans buying insurance through the exchange did so with financial assistance. That's below the national average of 79 percent.
Conversely, an unexpectedly large share of people buying insurance through the exchange did not qualify for subsidies.
Because Oklahoma elected not to participate in the extended Medicaid program that is part of the ACA, about 150,000 Oklahomans who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid are also not eligible for the health insurance exchange because they are too poor. State policymakers are struggling with finding a way to help what seem to essentially be working poor without accepting federal dollars to do it.
Women, both in Oklahoma and nationwide, were much more likely to buy insurance through either a state or federal exchange. Men and women ages 55-64 made up the largest age bloc about one-third. Those under age 34 accounted for about one-quarter.
Enrollment figures
A look at the monthly number of people who selected an insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act since its October launch:
| Month | Oklahoma | National |
| October | 346 | 106,185 |
| November | 1,327 | 258,497 |
| December | 13,326 | 1.79 million |
| Total | 14,999 | 2.15 million |
Source: Department of Health and Human Services
Randy Krehbiel 918-581-8365
