Fewer than 50,000 people have successfully enrolled in private insurance plans through the Obamacare exchange website, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The figure is just 10 percent of the Obama administration’s target for October.
Technology problems and design flaws have blocked many users from completing insurance applications or even creating accounts to use the site, which serves consumers in the 36 states where the federal government oversees the new health-insurance exchanges. […]
The administration thus far has said only that about 700,000 people had completed applications in all 50 states, using both the federal and state-run sites, in an Oct. 24 disclosure. An application is an early step for a consumer to determine pricing and eligibility for policies before enrolling.
The success of Obamacare relies on healthy young people signing up, but those who have signed up are older than expected.
Already, insurers have said their incoming enrollees from the federal exchange are significantly older than anticipated. Because the law bars insurers from charging unhealthy customers higher rates, insurers must attract young, healthy customers to offset the costs of people who use more medical services.