– Both of Missouri’s U.S. Senators expressed disappointment Wednesday in the first month of the federal health care exchange.

The bipartisan sentiment came after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released dismal numbers for the program’s first month, when just 751 Missourians were able to enroll and sign up for a health care plan in the federal exchange.

“The initial enrollment numbers are disappointing, and the problems with the online marketplace is unacceptable and embarrassing,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo. “What’s happened is this free market system has opened for business, but the front door remains locked. It’s clear there’s a problem and we need to get it fixed. We need to really focus on improving the website, and I’m going to be part of any efforts to do that.”

Sen. Roy Blunt, who was elected in 2010 – the same year Missourians voted by 71 percent during the primary to ban Missouri from establishing a state-level health care exchange, as called for by the federal law – was much more critical.

“Fewer than 800 Missourians have successfully signed up for the president’s health care plan while millions of Americans are being forced to lose their current coverage,” he said. “That’s appalling, and it simply confirms what we already knew: ObamaCare is a train wreck.”

The 751 number was just a small part of the nearly 28,000 Missourians who signed up on the website. More than 20,000 were eligible to enroll in a marketplace plan on their own, while another 7,111 were able to receive financial assistance. Some 4,000 applicants were determined eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Plan.