• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota is letting the federal government set up its insurance marketplace under President Barack Obama's health insurance overhaul, but state officials and organizations charged with getting the word out have been busy preparing for Tuesday's start of open enrollment.
• South Dakota is one of 36 states letting the feds run the health exchanges, and technical staff has been spending a lot of time trying to get state and federal computers talking to each other, said Eric Matt, a policy adviser to Gov. Dennis Daugaard.
• Matt said unclear federal regulations, numerous last-minute changes, inadequate testing on the federal side and postponed deadlines have made that a challenge.
• "We'll see how it works," he said. "I'd be shocked if it was glitch-free."
• The online marketplaces will be a place where people can buy health insurance as part of the effort to reduce the number of uninsured people.
• Officials don't know how many people will visit the site Tuesday, when people can begin signing up for coverage that would start Jan. 1. About 105,000 South Dakotans, or 13 percent of the state's population, are uninsured, according to recent surveys.
• In South Dakota, the state Division of Insurance has certified Avera Health Plans, Sanford Health Plan and Dakotacare to offer plans, said Melissa Klemann, the division's assistant director of life and health insurance.
• Klemann said the state is not putting any resources into marketing the health exchange, leaving that to private and non-profit health organizations. She said she's not sure whether residents will flock to the site Tuesday or whether traffic will build over time.
• "I think we're all anxious to see what that Oct. 1 date will do," Klemann said.
• The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board last month received a $264,000 grant to help spread the word to Native American residents of the Dakotas.
• Native Americans are exempt from the Affordable Care Act's requirement that people carry health insurance or pay a fine because they get free health care through the Indian Health Service, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services.
• But "navigators," whose job is to help residents choose coverage, will be encouraging tribes and tribal members to enroll because the resources available through

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