Published: Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 5:11 p.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, February 10, 2015 at 5:11 p.m.

But after his retirement 10 years ago, Batts, now 64, and his wife, Wanda, eventually found themselves in a coverage gap. He paid out of pocket for insurance for a while but saw a steep rise in the cost for the plan and had to cancel it when he was still a few years away from turning 65 and qualifying for Medicare.

So they turned to the Affordable Care Act, an option Wanda Batts said they gave up a little bit on last year because of the difficulties signing up when the HealthCare.gov website first rolled out.

During a Jan. 24 enrollment event at The Wooly in downtown Gainesville, they were among the more than 40 people who enrolled in an ACA health care plan for 2015.

Its a great relief, Telia Batts said as he walked out of the venue onto North Main Street.

Local enrollment is up this year, according to figures released by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services in January.

At least nine local ZIP code areas had higher enrollment numbers for the first two months of this years sign-up period, which began in mid-November, than for the full six-month enrollment period last year.

By contrast, the 32641 ZIP code in east Gainesville saw 612 people sign up during last years enrollment period and 570 during the first two months of this period.

People who signed up for coverage last year and re-enrolled this year count in each years figures.

In both years, the highest local enrollment numbers were in three densely populated ZIP codes: 32608 and 32607 in southwest Gainesville and 32605 in northwest Gainesville. In 2014, 32608 had 1,328 people enrolled in 2014 and 1,721 through Jan. 16. There were 1,075 in 32607 in 2014 and 1,248 through Jan. 16. Last year, 32605 had 886 and it had 1,178 through Jan. 16.

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In final week, health care enrollment push is on