Hawaii’s online health insurance marketplace signed up 2,015 individuals as of Tuesday’s enrollment deadline for policies beginning Jan. 1.
In addition, 296 businesses have applied for plans through the Hawaii Health Connector, created by President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.
The Connector said it was working on a case-by-case basis with those who started but did not complete the application process before the deadline to get coverage at the start of the year.
"Many took advantage of the extra day to enroll," said Tom Matsuda, the Connector’s interim executive director. "We have made significant increases in enrollment over the past few days, but we know there are still many more in Hawaii that we would like to reach."
The nonprofit organization estimates there are 100,000 uninsured in Hawaii and earlier said it needed to sign up 50,000 people to be sustainable by the end of 2014, when $204.3 million in federal grants expires.
The Connector said its customer support center was inundated with calls Monday — peaking at 2,772 — compared with an average 450 calls per day the week before, indicating a high demand for last-minute enrollments.
There also were 10,653 unique visitors to its website from Sunday through Tuesday, representing a 60 percent increase over the previous three days.
The Connector said its so-called marketplace assister organizations, assigned to seek out the uninsured, took in more than 5,000 applications as of Monday.
People who missed Tuesday’s deadline have until Jan. 15 to sign up for a policy that takes effect Feb. 1. Open enrollment runs through March before tax penalties are assessed under the Affordable Care Act.
The Connector, the only place individuals and small businesses can apply for subsidies to reduce insurance costs, was supposed to launch Oct. 1 but did not go live until Oct. 15 due to software problems that continue to plague the system.
For enrollment questions, call the customer service support center at 877-628-5076.
