Idaho Officials Not Sure Who is Signing Up for Insurance

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho insurance exchange officials don't know if the 20,000 people signed up for coverage effective Jan. 1 come from the ranks of the uninsured, or if they previously had insurance but switched to exchange policies because they're now eligible for financial assistance.

Your Health Idaho board chairman Stephen Weeg and director Amy Dowd gave their first report to the Idaho Legislature yesterday. Afterward, Weeg and Dowd acknowledged nobody is collecting that information about those getting coverage.

It's a key question, because President Obama envisioned these online marketplaces for individuals and small businesses to shop for coverage as helping millions of uninsured people getting policies. As Idaho develops in-house software to enroll participants, Weeg said, it may attempt to collect that data, to help learn if it's meeting that goal.