New California health exchange enrollees top 350,000

California, which has the biggest public health insurance exchange, says enrollment for 2015 continues to jump.

From the Nov. 15, 2014 start of the 2015 open enrollment season through Feb. 10, more than 354,000 state residents selected a plan in the exchange authorized by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and known as Covered California.

On Feb. 10 alone, 13,000 individuals selected coverage, the second-highest day of plan selection during the current open enrollment period.

“We are nearing the finish line of this historic initiative,” Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee said Thursday in a statement.

The 2015 open enrollment figures are for first-time enrollees. Data about current enrollees renewing their coverage will be released in the coming weeks.

Earlier, Covered California officials said they anticipate enrollment to hit about 1.7 million when the 2015 open enrollment period ends on Feb. 15. That would be an increase of about 500,000 from the exchange's 2014 enrollment.