Enrollees pour into state-run exchanges sites

Nearing deadlines to sign up for healthcare plans to ensure coverage by Jan.1 have caused many Americans to hurry to online exchange portals and pick a plan. According to NBC News, the majority of people who are rushing to sign up for coverage by Dec. 23 are using the state-run exchange sites. A total of 14 states opted to use their own exchange portals rather than the federal government's Healthcare.gov - and are seeing success because of it. 

In five states, including Kentucky and Connecticut, more than 436,000 individuals have enrolled in plans, which is more than in the remaining 36 states utilizing the federal website. The influx has caused many of the 14 states to utilize staffing agencies to provide call center workers, who assist customers over the phone on how to navigate the site. Yet as technical glitches began to dry up after IT professionals focused on the back-end issues many state sites experienced, some states have found their support centers still don't have the capabilities to handle the increased volume of shoppers. 

"We didn't staff up fast enough," said Kevin Counihan, chief executive officer of Connecticut's health insurance site, USA Today reported.