KY experiences strong turnout for its exchange

Although Kentucky was one of the states that had marketplace glitches on Oct. 1, nearly 78,000 residents shopped in the state's exchange for insurance benefits by the second day, according to a local news source.

According to an op-ed piece in The Wall Street Journal, Kentucky's exchange performed better than those of other states due to its strict system tests, efficient website design and coordination between state agencies. The exchange, called Kynect, had 6,909 completed applications, 2,989 individuals or families enrolled in coverage and 10,766 in-progress applications by 4:00 p.m. on the second day. Although Kynect experienced a technical glitch on the first day from too many applicants trying to enroll, quick action by technicians allowed the online marketplace to operate under the strong stream of traffic.

"We spent an enormous amount of time making it more functional," Chris Clark, technology program manager for the marketplace, told The WSJ. "Now we're able to provide [the information] in under 10 seconds."

KyForward, a local news source, reported the site had 77,799 unique visitors viewing 939,307 web pages by 7:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Oct. 2. In addition, 70,467 people began pre-screenings for financial assistance.