The difference between 'picked a plan' and 'enrolled'

Dan Diamond, Managing Editor

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told a House committee on Wednesday morning that her agency can't offer a picture of early enrollment through the health insurance exchanges, because officials (and insurance companies that particpate in the exchange) still lack accurate data.

Sebelius is pointing to a key nuance that we've found when doing our count--which draws from on-the-record reports from state officials, to be clear.

While at least 150,000 people have used the 15 state-based exchanges to pick a plan, many of those people aren't technically "enrolled" in coverage. Why? Three key reasons.

• Because these customers haven't paid their first-month premium yet.
• Because many states haven't transmitted the crucial "834" forms, which contain customer data, to the insurance companies.
• Because most of the 834 forms that are being sent to insurers are still riddled with problems, requiring hands-on fixes before customers can be entered in their systems.

That's why we made sure to call our column "picked a plan/enrolled," to capture a broader picture of total sign-ups for coverage. Here's our latest quick state-by-state look, as it stood on Tuesday afternoon.