In the Carolinas, about 2,200 people have signed up for health insurance through the new federal marketplace, or exchange. That's according to federal data released Wednesday.
So the marketplace that's part of the Affordable Care Act is kind of working.
In North Carolina, 1,662 people got through the glitchy website, dialed into the busy call center or mailed in a paper application and have actually signed up for health insurance. In South Carolina, the number is 572.
Both states are using the federal marketplace because their Republican leaders decided not to set up their own. The only Southern state to set up its own exchange is Kentucky.
"We've been very pleased with rollout for Kynect, which is our state health benefit exchange," said Gwenda Bond, spokeswoman for the part of the Kentucky government that's running the state's marketplace.
Almost 5,600 people signed up for health insurance through that state-run exchange during the first month. That's more than three times as many people as have signed up in North Carolina – and Kentucky has a much smaller population.
Of course, Kentucky's marketplace hasn't been perfect. But through the first month of enrollment, none of the 36 states that are using the federal marketplace have signed up more people than Kentucky.
