TUPELO (AP) — Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney says an increasing number of Mississippians are getting health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported Thursday that Chaney says there has been a 12 percent increase in the number of people signing up for insurance this year through healthcare.gov.

Preliminary data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid say about 88,000 Mississippians have sought health insurance for 2019 through the federal exchange.

The increasing number of Mississippians enrolling through healthcare.gov opposes the national trend, with enrollment dropping from 8.8 million to 8.5 million people.

Chaney says residents likely will continue to use the exchange as long as tax subsidies remain available. Mississippi’s sole insurer on the exchange, Magnolia Health, is available in all 82 counties.