Millions of Americans who buy their own health insurance were informed this fall that their policies would no longer be offered starting in 2014 because they do not meet the higher standards of the federal Affordable Care Act. The actual number of people receiving the notices is unclear, in part because officials in nearly 20 states say they do not have the information or are not tracking it.

Some states tracked the policy notifications through their insurance departments or health care exchanges. In other states, the largest private insurers released the number of discontinuation notices they issued.

President Barack Obama then said insurance companies could allow the older policies to continue, but left that decision to the states and individual insurers. The response has been mixed.

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This chart shows that at least 4.7 million Americans received the cancellation notices. It also provides details about what decision has been made in each state since Obama's announcement (some states had previously decided to allow insurers to continue older policies for a limited time).

It reflects reporting by AP staffers in every state and the District of Columbia and does not include policy cancelations in the small-business insurance market.

State Number of policies to be canceled Status of those policies
Alabama 90,000 Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, by the far the largest insurer in the state, decided not to extend the canceled policies.
Alaska 5,400 The state gave insurers the option of renewing policies. Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest insurer, and Moda Health, said they would do so.
Arizona State not tracking The state did not allow insurers to extend expiring policies.
Arkansans State not tracking The state gave insurers the option to extend older policies, and most are doing so.
California 1.1 million The state did not allow canceled policies to continue.
Colorado 326,590 Most insurers in the state are continuing existing policies for one year.
Connecticut 66,437 Some insurers decided to continue their existing plans for a year while others did not. The state also is offering some consumers the option to buy catastrophic coverage.
Delaware 12,000 The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies.
District of Columbia 21,300 The district's insurance department did not allow insurers to extend expiring policies.
Florida 333,000 The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies, and Florida Blue and Blue Cross Blue Shield said they would.  
Georgia 400,000 The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies.
Hawaii State not tracking The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies. The state's largest insurers, Kaiser Permanente and Hawaii Medical Service Association, agreed to do so. Yet both have asked the state for permission to raise premiums on those plans 8 to 10 percent.
Idaho 105,000 The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies. The state's two largest insurers, Blue Cross of Idaho and Regence Blue Shield, said those older policies will continue for one year.
Illinois 185,340 The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies through 2014. The largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, is doing so.
Indiana 108,000 The state did not allow insurers to continue canceled policies, but the insurance commissioner and insurers earlier in the year allowed an early renewal option that keeps some older policies in place through 2014.
Iowa 1,000 The state allowed insurers to continue their existing policies through 2014. The state's largest insurer, Wellmark Blue Cross & Blue Shield, said it would do so.
Kansas State not tracking The state has allowed the largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas to extend 10,000 older policies through 2014.
Kentucky 130,000 The state gave insurers the option of continuing their old policies. Some did and some did not.
Louisiana 92,790 The state allowed insurers to continue their existing policies if they choose.
Maine Existing plans automatically switched The state is allowing insurers to continue their existing plans through 2014.
Maryland 73,200 The state allowed insurers to continue their existing polices. CareFirst Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest insurer, opted to do so.
Massachusetts State not tracking The state did not allow canceled policies to continue, but also expects that most, if not all, policies sold in the state already meet the higher standards of the federal health care law because Massachusetts passed health insurance reforms in 2006.
Michigan 225,000 The state allowed insurers to continue canceled policies. But the state's largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, is letting all but one of its old individual plans to lapse. That plan has about 47,000 policyholders.
Minnesota 140,000 The state did not allow canceled policies to continue.
Mississippi 500 The state had already allowed insurers to continue older policies through 2014.
Missouri State not tracking The state allowed insurers to continue canceled policies.
Montana State not tracking The state insurance commissioner recommended against renewing the canceled policies, and the state's largest insurers said they will not be continued.
Nebraska State not tracking The state allowed insurers to continue the existing policies for another year. So far, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska and United Security Insurance of Omaha have said they will do so.
Nevada 24,600 The state did not allow canceled policies to continue.
New Hampshire 22,000 The state allowed insurers to continue their older policies, and insurance companies have said they will raise premiums on them by an average of 7 percent.
New Jersey 150,000 The state gave insurers the option of continuing their old policies. The largest, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield, indicated it would not continue its basic plan.
New Mexico 26,000 The state decided to allow the continuation of older policies through 2014 even before the Obama administration encouraged it. One insurer that provides coverage to nearly 3,000 people opted against an extension.
New York 100,000 The state did not allow canceled policies to continue.
North Carolina 183,800 The state allowed insurers to continue their old policies, but only Blue Cross chose to do so.
North Dakota 46,550 The state allowed insurers to continue their old policies, but the largest insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, opted against doing so.
Ohio State not tracking The state gave insurers the option of continuing their old policies; six have said they will do so.
Oklahoma State not tracking The state has allowed insurers to continue existing policies through 2014 and most are doing so.
Oregon 135,000 The state allowed insurers to extend canceled policies, and all nine are doing do so. But two of those are extending them only through March 31.
Pennsylvania 250,000 The state allowed old policies to continue. The state's four nonprofit Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers said they would extend those policies for up to six months but also were likely to increase the premiums.
Rhode Island Existing plans automatically switched The state did not allow insurers to continue canceled policies.
South Carolina State not tracking The state gave insurers the option of continuing their old policies for a year. Some did and some did not.
South Dakota State not tracking Insurers were allowed to extend canceled policies.
Tennessee 60,000 Insurers were allowed to extend canceled policies.
Texas State not tracking The state chose not to get involved, leaving the decision about whether to extend canceled policies to individual insurers.
Utah State not tracking The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies.
Vermont Not available The state had already allowed insurers to extend older policies through March 31, 2014, but will not allow them to continue beyond that.
Virginia State not tracking The state did not allow insurers to continue their older policies.
Washington 290,000 The state did not allow insurers to continue their older policies.
West Virginia State not tracking The state did not allow insurers to continue their older policies.
Wisconsin State not tracking The state allowed insurers to continue existing policies.
Wyoming 3,200 Insurance companies were given the option to renew, and the state insurance commissioner says most of the older plans will be extended for 2014.
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