Obamacare: Californians signing up at a stunning rate

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In the first week of December, Californians signed up for private health insurance on the state's new online exchange at nearly three times the rate as the first week of last month, figures released Thursday showed.

Almost 50,000 individuals signed up through Dec. 7 at a stunning rate of 7,100 per day, according to the exchange, called Covered California.

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Roughly a third of the people who enrolled nationally have done so through California's website.

In addition, 179,000 Californians will probably be eligible for the expanded version of Medi-Cal, the state's health program for the poor, Covered California officials said.

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The numbers not only reflect an obvious desire for health care, but also the beginning of a last-minute rush to enroll before the Dec. 23 deadline for insurance coverage that would begin Jan. 1.

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Of the 156,143 people who signed up for a plan under the exchange as of Saturday, more than 90 percent qualified for federal subsidies.

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The new data released Thursday also included a breakdown on the race and ethnicity of the people who have enrolled through the exchange. So far, 53,000 whites have signed up. They were followed by Asians at 18,000, Latinos at almost 14,000 and blacks at about 3,000.

http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_24711755/obamacare-california-enrollees-make-up-nearly-third-nations