INDIANAPOLIS -- Gov. Mitch Daniels said Thursday that the Healthy Indiana Plan is off to a good start.

Sign-ups for the program to help Hoosiers with low and moderate income get health coverage began last week, 6News' Norman Cox reported.

So far, about 4,500 people have applied for the insurance, which is funded largely by the increase in the cigarette tax.

Daniels said the vast majority of those who applied have already been approved, and that he thinks the initial numbers are encouraging.

"As we huddle over these figures from week one, we believe this is an encouraging sign -- about 5,000 in a week," Daniels said. "We hope that it will increase as awareness of the program spreads."

The program helps those who are not eligible for Medicaid, have no access to employer-sponsored insurance and have been uninsured for at least six months.

"There was absolutely no program, public or private, that was serving this very large percentage of people," Daniels said. "We tried to shape something that went straight at this area of greatest need."

Healthy Indiana provides basic coverage and free preventive care for Hoosiers earning up to 200 percent of the poverty level. Their premiums will be no more than 5 percent of their income.

Shelley Ross, a mother of two and part-time teacher, lost her coverage in a divorce. She will pay $91 a month for coverage that will enable her to take care of problems such as a cataract, which she can now get fixed after leaving it untreated for eight months.

"All the students knew if they wanted to get by with anything, sit on this side of the class so I couldn't see anything," Ross said. "They told me that at the end of the semester."

Daniels said that Indiana has enough money to cover 130,000 Hoosiers, but state officials expect that only about half that number will apply in the first year.

Applications can be obtained through many community organizations or by calling 877-438-4479.