Almost 11.7 million covered through government health insurance exchanges

Certified application counselor Tina Gaffney helps a resident create an account for a health insurance plan under the Affordable Care Act at a Westside Family Healthcare center enrollment event in Bea/ Bloomberg

Nearly 11.7 million people selected plans in the federal and state health insurance exchanges during the 2015 open season, the U.S. Department of Health and Services reported, a big jump over last year's enrollment.

The selections of exchange plans by 11.69 million Americans compares with the 8.02 million individuals who selected plans during the 2014 open season. By November of last year, though, enrollment had fallen to 6.7 million, a decline largely due to enrollees losing coverage after they stopped making premium payments.

Just over three-quarters — or 8.84 million — of those selecting plans during the current open season did so in the federal exchange, which offers plans to those in the 37 states that declined to set up their own exchanges. Another 2.88 million chose coverage in the 13 states that, along with the District of Columbia, have their own health insurance exchanges.

Among those choosing plans in the federal exchange, 87%, or 7.7 million people, qualified for a federal premium subsidy, available to those with incomes between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. The average premium subsidy was $263 a month, with 55% of enrollees paying $100 a month or less for coverage after the subsidy.

Of the 37 states in the federal exchange, those with the highest number of individuals selecting coverage during the 2015 open season are: Florida, 1,596,296; Texas, 1,205,174; North Carolina, 560,357; and Georgia, 541,080.

Of those states operating their own exchanges, those with the highest number of people selecting plans were: California, 1,412,200; New York, 408,841; Washington, 160,372; and Massachusetts, 140,540.