This Monday marks another big deadline under the Affordable Care Act. That's the last day that people can sign up for insurance through the online marketplace and have their coverage begin on January 1.
According to numbers released by the federal Department of Health and Human Services, only about 4,100 Missourians enrolled in the first two months of the program.
The Missouri Foundation for Health's Ryan Barker blames the low numbers on problems with the Healthcare.gov website, which he says only really improved in late November.
"I think a lot of people were waiting until the website improvements to sign up and pick a plan," Barker says. "And so I think the December numbers will be a lot more telling in terms of how much interest there is and how much enrollment there is into the marketplace."
Consumers that want their health insurance to kick in by the first of the year have to pay their first premium by Jan. 10.
