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Health Exchange Enrollment Slowing In Kansas, Missouri

Federal health exchange in enrollment is slowing, according to data released Tuesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services reports that 29,309 in Kansas and 74,469 in Missouri selected insurance plans by the end of February. That is up 31 percent in Kansas and 38 percent in Missouri from the previous report, a slow-down compared with an increase of about 60 percent in both states during January.

In a conference call, Julie Bataille of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services brushed aside concerns about slowing momentum.

“Projections are constantly changing, and we’re certainly encouraged by the increasing percentage of people that have enrolled and covered, and we think we are on the right trajectory as we head into the end of March," said Bataille.

The Department said it did not have complete information on the numbers of new enrollees who were previously uninsured.

As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
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