Nearly half million apply for US health insurance despite Flaws: officials

WASHINGTON, Oct 21: �Roughly half a million Americans have applied for health insurance through new federal- and state-run exchanges under President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, an administration official said on Saturday. That figure comes as problems with the federal marketplace's entry portal serving 36 states, the website Healthcare.Gov, have thwarted consumers from shopping for federally subsidized health coverage and drawn derision from Republicans, who oppose the law, popularly known as� Obamacare. (agencies)