By Peter Frost
Tribune staff reporter
1:15 p.m. CDT, May 1, 2014
A last-minute surge of sign-ups nearly doubled the number of Illinoisans who signed up for insurance policies offered under President Barack Obama’s health care law in the first year of open enrollment, according to federal data released Tuesday.
Nearly 104,000 in Illinois signed up for coverage between March 1 and April 19, bringing the total to 217,492, still short of state officials’ internal goal of enrolling 300,000 in 2014.
While the figures don’t show how many of those who signed up actually paid their first month’s premium, effectively completing enrollment, the data show Illinois handily beat the final federal enrollment projections for the state of 143,000.
Of them, about 168,000, or 77 percent, purchased plans with the help of federal subsidies aimed at offsetting premiums. Those subsidies were available to those who have annual incomes of up to four times the federal poverty level, or about $31,700 for an individual and $95,400 for a family of four.
The majority of those who selected plans in Illinois, or about 56 percent, chose mid-level silver plans, while 29 percent selected lower-coverage bronze plans and 15 percent enrolled in gold.
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