More than 20,000 Kentuckians have signed up for Healthcare.gov, the federal health insurance marketplace that is replacing kynect, the state’s previous insurance portal, since open enrollment began Nov. 1.

With the enrollment period ending Jan. 31, or Dec. 15 for coverage to start on the first day of 2017, Kentucky healthcare professionals said it’s too early to tell how this enrollment compares to kynect’s enrollment rates from previous years.

Dennis Chaney, director of the Barren River District Health Department, said previous enrollment periods have seen surges of signup rates in their last 30 days.

“I guess when anyone has a deadline, the majority of us step up to the plate,” he said.

A news release from former governor Steve Beshear’s communication office dated Apr. 1, 2014, said that of the 370,000 that had enrolled since the previous October, more than 21,000 signups occurred in the last three days.

The unemployment rate, which has been steadily decreasing, may be having an effect on the number of people signing up for insurance, Chaney said.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Kentucky’s unemployment rate has fallen from 7.9 percent in October 2013, when open enrollment first began for kynect, to 5.1 percent in October 2016, the most recent month for which data was available.

Ben Chandler, CEO of Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, also said the possibility of a future surge in enrollees makes comparisons difficult.

“We don’t know whether the lion’s share of those people signed up near the beginning or near the end,” he said.

Chandler also noted the original kynect enrollment period ran for six months while the current enrollment period for 2017 will last for three.

“The proof in the pudding is what the final numbers are and we don’t have those yet,” he said.

People having difficulties signing up for insurance via Healthcare.gov could affect enrollment numbers, though he hasn’t heard of a great number of people having trouble with the system, he said.

“We have not heard of a great groundswell of difficulties,” he said. “We’ve got to assume that it’s proceeding pretty smoothly until we hear otherwise.”

Chris Keyser, executive director of Fairview Community Health Center, said the number of people who have signed up for insurance through Healthcare.gov – 20,276, according to a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services dated Nov. 30, indicates a “positive direction” but she would like to see more people sign up.

“I don’t think this is a very robust number but it’s a start,” she said.

Keyser said she’s worried the process of applying for insurance may be difficult for people to figure out, especially for those not familiar with computers.

Chaney, meanwhile, said that through three years of kynect, people have had time to grow accustomed to the process of signing up for health insurance online.

“I stand on the perspective that the learning curve was steeper three years ago,” he said.

— Follow Daily News reporter Jackson French on Twitter @Jackson_French or visit bgdailynews.com.