The Obama administration released the first enrollment numbers for the Affordable Care Act Wednesday, and about 33,000 Arizona residents applied for coverage through the federal exchange, according to numbers by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Wednesday.
The department said between Oct. 1 and Nov. 2, more than 17,000 Arizonans filled out applications for a health insurance plan through the exchange, and sought coverage for themselves and their dependents, totaling 32,897 residents, according to HHS.
However, only 739 Arizonans have purchased health insurance through the exchange, the HHS report said.
The insurance marketplaces are a key component of President Barack Obama's health care law, which requires almost all Americans to have health coverage starting next year.
Nationally, 106,185 people have selected an insurance plan through the marketplace, HHS said.
In Arizona, about 1 million people do not have medical coverage.
Arizona, like most states, is not running its own health insurance exchange, instead the state is leaving it up to the federal government.
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