New York has had increasing success enrolling people into its federally mandated health exchange after a rocky launch Oct. 1.  Although the federal site has been mired in troubles, New York has reported better results. 

The state said that 314,146 New Yorkers had completed their applications, and 100,881 people enrolled for coverage starting Jan. 1.  The deadline to enroll for Jan. 1 health coverage is Dec. 23. 

The state plans to enroll 1.1 million uninsured New Yorkers by the end of 2016.  Officials did not release statistics on how many enrolled in Medicaid or in a private insurance plan. 

"We are very pleased to see these results, which show that tens of thousands of individuals and across the state are turning to nystateofhealth.ny.gov to access low-cost health insurance," Donna Frescatore, executive director of NY State of Health, said in a statement. 

Because New York already has a vast Medicaid program at an annual cost of $50 billion, it has been credited with having an easier transition to the health exchange.  Reuters reported Dec. 4 that about 29,000 people signed up for health insurance through the federal HealthCare.gov website on Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 — eclipsing the 26,000 for all of October. 

Unlike 36 states, New York runs its own exchange. 

New York estimates that people may see as much as a 53% reduction in health-insurance costs through the exchange than compared to the open market. 

The program also has a small-business marketplace that offers health insurance to businesses with 50 or fewer employees.  Large businesses that do not offer employees health insurance could be hit with a fine in 2015. 

The exchange offers tax credits to those who earn less than $45,960 as an individual or $94,200 as a family of four. 

People without health insurance would be hit with a fine on their income taxes in 2015, starting at about $95 or 1% of gross income.  The fine can grow to as much as $695 a year over time.