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More Utahns Signing Up for Obamacare

New Obamacare enrollment numbers are in. When Matthew Slonaker of Utah Health Policy Project looks at how many people in the state signed up for insurance in the first month of this enrollment period, he sees good news.

“We’re off to a strong start,” Slonaker says. “It looks like health care enrollment has really picked up for the first month in Utah, nationally as well, but in Utah, we’re looking at nearly 50,000 people have opted to enroll in insurance. This really outpaces our enrollment trend from last year.”

Slonaker says the number of Utahns who signed up on healthcare.gov between November 15th and December 15th is about double the number who signed up in the same period the previous year, although half of them were re-enrolling this time around. About 89 percent were eligible for financial assistance to lower their monthly premiums.

“It seems like people are looking at healthcare.gov and seeing options that work for them,” Slonaker says. “So I think the word’s getting around that this is affordable insurance.”

Enrollment continues until February 15th. More information is available by calling the United Way hotline at 211, or by visiting takecareutah.org.

Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ
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