So Far, Nearly 90 Thousand Hoosiers Apply for Obamacare in 2015

More than 4 million people have signed up for new health care plans under the Affordable Care Act in the first month of enrollment, according to data released today by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Most of them – 3.4 million – enrolled through the federal health care exchange. That includes nearly 89 thousand Hoosiers, more than half of whom were buying coverage for the first time. The vast majority of the state’s buyers – 88 percent – also claimed eligibility for tax subsidies. But those subsidies are at the heart of a legal challenge questioning their validity in Indiana and other states that didn’t set up their own health care marketplaces. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case in March.

Tax penalties for uninsured people are set to rise on January first, to 2 percent of annual taxable household income, capped at the price of an average bronze plan premium, or $325 per family and $162.50 per child under 18, capped at $975.

People have until Feb. 15 to apply for coverage in 2015.