Exchanges face bumps in the road
The Department of Health and Human Services reported an uptick in insurance enrollees last month—with 2.1 million individuals signed on and another 3.9 million qualified for Medicaid. As the program takes effect, some consumers are still struggling to sign up while insurance exchanges scramble to process new enrollees and handle inevitable glitches.
Across the country, exchanges begin their odyssey with their fair share of bumps in the road. Some highlights this week:
California—The Covered California exchange is still sorting through paper applications for health insurance starting Jan. 1. In the meantime, some people are experiencing problems related to invoices, coverage confirmation and online payments. As a result, the state exchange extended the payment deadline to Jan. 15, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Oregon—About 170,000 Oregonians enrolled in the state exchange despite problems with the health exchange website that forced consumers to submit paper applications. One major dark spot is that half of those who applied were turned down due to incomplete applications; these individuals will be processed for insurance effective Feb. 1, reports The Oregonian.
Maryland—Problems with Maryland’s state exchange website prompted officials to ask the state health secretary for a specific assessment of the idea of switching to the federal exchange while Maryland’s exchange gets fixed. In total, 18,257 Maryland residents have been able to enroll, which is 12 percent of the state’s goal of 150,000, reports the Associated Press.
Hawaii—The state’s exchange—the Hawaii Health Connector—is troubled with technical glitches. Waikiki Health, a federally qualified center where experts help applicants enroll, has been able to enroll only 5 percent of the dozens of applicants who have come to its offices. Overall, the state has enrolled 2,015 consumers, reports CBS News.
Wisconsin—The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance reported continuing problems with the federal exchange, healthcare.gov, in particular, some plans on the site fail to report the deductible and some summaries are with the wrong plans, the commissioner’s office reported. As of early December, more than 5,300 Wisconsin residents had signed onto the exchange, reports the Wisconsin State Journal.