Nevadans enrolled in health insurance through state exchange up at mid-month

The number of Nevadans enrolled in health insurance through the state’s exchange continued to rise mid-month.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that 52,498 Nevadans were signed up as of Jan. 16 in coverage bought through the federal marketplace that Nevada Health Link is using to enroll members.

That was up from 47,784 enrollees as of Jan. 9.

Nevada Health Link had roughly 36,000 enrollees buy a plan during the first enrollment session from October 2013 through May.

The numbers include both new members and existing enrollees who renewed coverage from the first sign-up session in, but the federal agency didn’t give a breakdown on how many customers are new to the system.

Nationally, nearly 7.2 million people had enrolled by Jan. 16.

Feb. 15 is the deadline to buy insurance through the exchanges, which is the only way to get a federal premium tax credit.

Contact Jennifer Robison at jrobison@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @J_Robison1.