During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) refused to disclose the number of people who bought insurance through the online marketplaces that are a centerpiece of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “We have just decided not to release that yet,” said Marilyn Tavenner, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services…

Although Tavenner would not release enrollment data, HHS said consumers have already signed up for insurance through both the federal exchange website and every state exchange in operation. As the launch day wore on and states ironed out some of the kinks in their sites, many touted their Web traffic and enrollment figures. Kentucky officials said nearly 60,000 people visited its exchange during the first 15 hours it was operational. The Covered California exchange reported receiving an average of 5,000 page views per minute on Tuesday. And Minnesota said exchange-consumer-assistance workers fielded more than 1,700 calls.