More than 74,000 Kentuckians have signed up for health insurance through HealthCare.gov as of January 14.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released the numbers Wednesday. Open enrollment continues through Jan. 31.
This is the first year Kentuckians have had to use the federal marketplace to sign up for health insurance since the Affordable Care Act went into effect. Previously, Kentucky operated its own health insurance exchange through kynect, which was started by former Democratic Governor Steve Beshear. Republican Governor Matt Bevin dismantled kynect after taking office in 2015. He said a state operated system was unnecessary since the federal government was also operating one.
Nationwide, about 8.7 million people have signed up for health insurance on HealthCare.gov.