In the Carolinas, November was a far better month than October for the federal marketplace that's part of the Affordable Care Act. That's according to data the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released Wednesday.
In North Carolina, 7,308 people signed up for coverage online, over the phone or through the mail in November. In South Carolina, 2,189 people signed up.
Those are huge increases for the federal marketplace, or exchange. More than four times as many North Carolinians and more than three times as many South Carolinians signed up in November compared to October. But keep in mind, October was the first month the marketplace open, and it was disastrous. The federal website barely worked.
A key thing to watch going forward is not just how many but what mix of people sign up. If only older, sicker people use the exchange, you can bet that premiums will jump next year.
We don't know if that's happening yet. The federal government hasn't released details on the mix of people signing up.
