Florida once again led the nation in the number of people who picked a plan through the federal health insurance marketplace this year, preliminary data show.
Nearly 1.8 million Floridians selected an Obamacare plan for 2017 during the open enrollment period, which started last November and ended on Jan. 31.
Like previous years, the Miami market led the charge with more than 635,000 signups, followed by Central Florida, which reported 337,000 plan selections.
Miami also had the most plan selections compared with other U.S. markets.
Nationwide, 9.2 million Americans picked a plan through the health insurance exchange during the open enrollment period, 3 million of whom were new consumers, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The number is lower than last year’s 9.6 million and doesn’t include data from nearly a dozen states that have their own health insurance exchanges.
Obamacare sign-up deadline on Tuesday »
Although there was a surge in the number of enrollees after election — so much that the first enrollment deadline was extended — enrollment dipped after President Trump took office, according to the LA Times.
The numbers are still subject to change as consumers make plan modifications or cancellations. Numbers also don’t reflect what percentage of consumers have started paying their premiums.
Federal officials will release the final numbers in March.
Meanwhile, according to Politico, Republicans are looking at four Obamacare replacement measures and House leaders hope to hold their next key vote in March.
Some experts speculate that the repeal and replacement process could be lengthy and consumers won’t be affected immediately.
Local navigators too say that people who have signed up for a plan will have coverage until the end of 2017.
nmiller@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5158, @naseemmiller
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