Gov. David Ige has decided to accelerate the shut down of the Hawaii Health Connector because the state-based exchange that is assigned to enroll residents in Obamacare has run out of cash to continue outreach efforts.

“The Connector’s ongoing financial challenges have forced the state to accelerate the transition beginning Dec. 1,” Ige said in a news release this morning. “The governor and state cabinet officials, in consultation with Connector leadership, agreed that this transition was in the best interest of Hawaii residents because the state has already transitioned to the federal marketplace – healthcare.gov – for enrollment of individuals during this current open enrollment.”

Open enrollment began on Nov. 1 and concludes on Jan. 31. The state was supposed to take over Connector operations in February, after the open-enrollment period.

About 22 full-time Connector employees will be laid off in December, but a few will remain to complete the financial accounting for the troubled nonprofit. Another 20 temporary outreach workers also will lose their jobs.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees health insurance exchanges, determined that Hawaii was not in compliance with the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, including being financially self-sustaining as of Jan. 1, 2015.

The Connector was supposed to close in October 2016, but will now end operations on Nov. 30. The state is moving Obamacare enrollments to the federal healthcare.gov site, though the transition has been difficult thus far and no enrollment numbers have been disclosed.

The state is walking away from a $130 million investment in the Connector and permanently moving the insurance exchange to the federal Obamacare program.

Ige’s administration decided to abandon the troubled Connector, which has struggled since its launch in October 2013 to meet enrollment targets, provide satisfactory service and raise enough money to be self-sustaining. The Connector has burned through $130 million of $204 million in federal money granted to the state to build the exchange but not to fund ongoing operations.

Earlier this year, Ige acknowledged that Hawaii is out of compliance with the ACA and is at risk of losing $1 billion in Medicaid funds if Washington does not accept the state’s plan to remedy the ailing Connector.

This open enrollment is for Hawaii residents not eligible for health insurance through their employer or enrolled in a government insurance program. The state is urging individuals seeking insurance to enroll by Dec. 15 to ensure that their coverage begins on Jan 1.

Connector officials said there are roughly 40,000 Hawaii residents covered under ACA plans who will need to re-enroll through healthcare.gov, which has had significant computer glitches since open enrollment began on Nov. 1 and enrollment delays of up to four hours.