Nearly 89,000 Ohioans selected plans on healthcare.gov as of Dec.15 and about 85 percent of them qualified for financial assistance, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday.

In Michigan, more than 123,000 people either signed up for the first time or renewed their health plans.

Nationally, more than 4 million people signed up or re-enrolled in coverage for 2015 during the first month of open enrollment, the agency said.

For those who remain uninsured “it is not too late,” to get health insurance and to avoid paying tax penalties, said Julie Grasson, assistant director of Toledo-Lucas County CareNet, the local agency helping consumers navigate the health marketplace.

“There are still some people who think they don’t qualify for Medicaid or for tax credits. Some people have it stuck in their head that these plans are $300 or $400 a month, but some people are qualifying for plans that are $150 a month with tax credits,” she said.

The federal health-care law, commonly known as Obamacare, requires carrying health insurance by March, 2014, or facing tax penalties in 2015.

Even those who went without health insurance this year may qualify for one of several exemptions to avoid paying a penalty or having money withheld by the IRS, Ms. Grasson said.

Many of the exemptions are based on financial hardships.

For instance, people who didn’t earn enough to pay even the lowest premium, people who accrued a large number of medical bills this year, and people who are homeless probably qualify for an exemption, she said. A full list of the exemptions is on the healthcare.gov Web site.

Ms. Grasson said consumers have until Feb. 15 to sign up for health insurance to avoid paying even larger tax penalties in 2016.

The penalties will increase from $95 for adults or 1 percent of taxable income in 2015, to $325 per adult or 2 percent of taxable income, whichever is greater in 2016.

Those who already have private health insurance or are on Medicaid or Medicare are considered covered and will not face a penalty.

Nine CareNet navigators have been helping northwest Ohio residents sign up for new coverage or renew their policies at several sites.

The Source building downtown and the Sanger branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library have been the busiest locations.

Local data on the number of people who have selected insurance plans this second year of the marketplace exchange is not available, Ms. Grasson said.

“They are seeing a wide range of consumers coming in from those fresh out of college with careers that don’t offer health insurance, up to people who are a few months away from turning 65 and being eligible for Medicare,” she said.

According to the Department of Health and Human Services report, of the 88,927 Ohioans who selected a plan, 52 percent re-enrolled in a marketplace plan in 2015 and 48 percent signed up for the first time.

In Michigan, 53 percent of the 123, 208 enrollees were for the first time with 47 percent renewing policies.

The report included information from all 50 states, including the 14 states that operated their own independent health-care exchanges.

Some information was incomplete because the report included data collected through Dec. 15 while the re-enrollment process continued through Dec. 18.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell has set a target of enrolling 9.1 million premium-paying customers in 2015.

“Interest in the marketplace has been strong during the first month of open enrollment,” Ms. Burwell said in a statement Tuesday. “We still have a ways to go and a lot of work to do before Feb. 15, but this is an encouraging start.”

Information from The Blade’s news services was used in this report.

Contact Marlene Harris-Taylor at mtaylor@theblade.com or 419-724-6091.

First Published December 31, 2014, 5:00 a.m.