Previously insured dominated health exchange enrollment

While a significant number of uninsured Americans ended up signing up for insurance benefits through the federal and state marketplaces, the latest study by McKinsey & Company found the vast majority of enrollees were previously insured.

McKinsey was watching and examining the evolution of the individual health insurance market since the exchanges' roll out, and its fifth survey, conducted after the marketplaces were closed last month, discovered 74 percent of those who enrolled in plans had been already insured. The company looked at a total representative sample of 9,533 people across all of the surveys, with April having 2,874 respondents. However, only 26 percent of those who signed up in April were previously uninsured.

April had the highest percentage of sign ups from previously uninsured Americans compared to the other surveys. More than 60 percent of those who enrolled in April were uninsured, while that number was only 44 percent in February. 

In addition, most people who purchased plans on the exchange have paid their first premiums.

According to Forbes, these findings indicate many people who had already had insurance were interested in using the exchanges.