574 Enrolled in Hawaii Health Connector

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The Hawaii Health Connector announced Friday that 574 people have enrolled in health insurance so far. This is up from the Connector's initial enrollment figure of 257 on November 15.

The announcement was made at a board of directors meeting held at the state capitol Friday. One of the main purposes of the meeting was to introduce Interim Executive Director Tom Matsuda to the BOD.

Matsuda's first day will be Monday. However, as he told Hawaii News Now, he has already been working at the position to fix what hasn't gone right so far.

"We have to fix the IT system so it's more approachable to the consumers and people can get the insurance plans that they want, and sign up in a convenient way. We have to work on that, we have to improve it" Matsuda said to Hawaii News Now.

While he is not going to apply for the full time position, Matsuda is still looking to improve performance of the health insurance exchange. Additionally, he sees a need for public outreach which at times has been lacking.

"I think it's going to be my job going forward that people have actual facts about what's happening on the ground in the Connector, and I hope to do that and be transparent about it. To let people know what is working and what is not working".

Matsuda steps in for Coral Andrews, who resigned from her position as Executive Director, effective today.

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