Thousands of state residents sign up for healthcare

OLYMPIA - More than 10,000 people have completed applications for healthcare in the first week the Washington Healthplanfinder website has been operational, state officials said.

The marketplace opened on Oct. 1, and allows uninsured Washingtonians to find, compare and enroll in health insurance and gain access to free or low-cost coverage.

In addition to the thousands of applications submitted, the site has seen more than 837,000 total site visits and more than 2.5 million page views in the first week.The state call center has field more than 23,000 calls from people seeking information on the new healthcare exchange.

Health insurance through the marketplace begins on Jan. 1, 2014.  The open enrollment period runs through March 31, 2014.

The Washington Healthplanfinder website is run by the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, which was established as part of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.