Enrollment On HealthCare.gov Far Lower Than Estimated

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The White House says enrollments for health insurance through the new government website are far below expectations.

In October, just under 27,000 people signed up using the HeatlhCare.gov. About 79,000 others went through their own state's website. But the combined total is still just one-fifth of what officials had expected.

The Federal Health Care website was nearly unusable in its first days of operation, and that limited the number of people who were able to sign up

Another disturbing trend for the administration is that the ratio of Obamacare customers is heavily tilted toward those receiving insurance entirely funded by the government.

Instead of navigating healthcare.gov, about 75% of enrollees signed up on one of the health insurance exchanges run by 14 states and the District of Columbia.

"I promise you that no one will be satisfied with the numbers because they will be below what we sought prior to the launch," White House press secretary, Jay Carney, said.

President Obama has instructed his team to come up with options for him to review. There is interest in the health care plans.

Nearly 27 million people have visited the federal and state websites, and just over three million have called for information or help signing up.

Figures show that states running their own health insurance exchanges, instead of the troubled federal site, are doing better.

Minnesota has its own exchange and 11,000 plans have been paid for.