RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal officials say nearly 300,000 Virginians have signed up for the health insurance marketplace under the program’s second open enrollment. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says 298,981 people signed up ahead of the deadline Thursday for coverage starting Feb. 1. For those who missed the deadline, an open enrollment period will extend until Feb. 15. If that deadline is missed, the earliest coverage for those seeking it would be in 2016. In the first month of the second enrollment, HHS says 83 percent of Virginia consumers who signed up were eligible for financial assistance.
