As of July first, about 10,600 North Dakotans have enrolled in expanded Medicaid.
The 2013 Legislature approved the expansion of Medicaid to provide medical insurance for lower income North Dakotans.
"Our projections prior to the expansion were around 20,500," said Julie Schwab, the director of the state Department of Human Services' Medical Services Division. "The Kaiser Foundation had a little higher projection, 32,000."
Schwab says at this point, it’s only speculation as to why the numbers weren’t close to the projections.
"Just like anything, you sometimes get things when you need them<' said Schwab. "If you think about when people might need insurance, it's when they're sick. We're thinking that some of those who haven't signed up haven't needed it yet."
Schwab says slightly over half the enrollees are female. She says about 45 percent are ages 19 to 34…16 percent are 35 to 44…and 38 percent were 45 to 64. Schwab says the majority are in the rural counties. And she says those percentages have remained relatively stable.