Covered California signed up roughly 400,000 people for health insurance through Dec. 22, according to a preliminary estimate of enrollment numbers by Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California.
The exchange topped the million mark for enrollment applications in the first three months of open enrollment with an official total of 1,064,872 applications through Dec. 28.
The official release of complete December enrollment data is expected in mid-January.
The number of applications has climbed steadily since the exchange opened enrollment on Oct. 1. The number of people who actually enrolled for coverage increased rapidly as the Dec. 23 deadline neared. Californians seeking insurance coverage through the exchange had to sign up by Dec. 23 for coverage to start Jan. 1.
The exchange’s six-month open enrollment period ends Mar. 31.
According to exchange officials, 30,919 Californians signed up for coverage in October and November had more than twice that number, with 78,377 sign-ups. The first three weeks of December far outpaced the first two months, with a rough estimate of almost 300,000 Californians enrolling through Dec. 22.
Enrollees have until Jan. 6 to pay their first premiums.
In the fourth week of December, the number of Californians visiting the Covered California website hit 836,885 and another 73,558 people contacted the exchange call centers in that single week, according to exchange officials.