Federal officials have approved the online home of Maine’s new state-run health insurance marketplace, which opens Nov. 1. 

The site is a key final step under the Made for Maine Health Coverage Act, which Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, signed last year with bipartisan legislative support. 

The bill created a state-based insurance system in lieu of the federal default under the Affordable Care Act and sought to lower insurance costs and expand access for more Mainers. 

For the past year’s enrollment period, Maine offered its state insurance system through the federal platform, healthcare.gov. Now, the state will be able to open its own online system at CoverME.gov, where residents can shop for and enroll in health plans starting in November.

The site says that current users of healthcare.gov will find accounts on CoverME.gov waiting for them to finish setting up on or after Nov. 1. The site previously provided enrollment support and other resources, but people had to use the federal site to actually buy their plan.

“We think that by being in control of the entire process, from outreach to enrollment, Maine is taking an important step in providing consistency and certainty for the citizens of Maine who rely on the insurance they obtain through the Marketplace,” Kimberly Vance, who leads the state’s health underwriters association, said in a state press release. 

Under this year’s COVID stimulus bill, the release said, more residents qualify for financial assistance with their health insurance costs, with nearly a quarter of Mainers who enrolled in 2021 paying $10 or less per month for their state marketplace insurance. 

“The state-run Marketplace is one of the most important steps Maine has taken in providing individuals a strong avenue to gain coverage and, thereby, remove one barrier to seeking care,” Barbara Leonard, head of the Maine Health Access Foundation, said in the release. 

Maine joins 15 other states that, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, already run their own marketplaces through a state-based online system. Those include all other New England states besides New Hampshire, which uses the federal marketplace. 

New Mexico and Kentucky are also introducing their own state-based health insurance platforms alongside Maine on Nov. 1, according to healthcare.gov.