The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that 624 Alabamians selected health insurance plans in the first month that Alabama's federally run health insurance marketplace was available.
That's equal to one-tenth of 1 percent of the estimated 677,000 Alabamians without health insurance.
The department says more than 10,500 applications were completed in Alabama in October, and they covered more than 20,800 people.
Of that number, more than 2,260 were eligible for Medicaid or Alabama's health insurance plan for children. Among those who made applications, 4,910 were eligible to enroll in a plan with federal financial assistance, but few took the next step to select a plan.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius predicts the numbers will increase.