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October 15, 2013 at 02:21 PM
Federal and state officials appear to be out of options as far as rebooting HealthCare.gov.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services hasn’t discussed contingency plans.
Some state exchange sites have been working reasonably well and, according to officials, have processed close to 100,000 applications since the sites opened for business Oct. 1. But sites in other state-run sites, such as Vermont and Hawaii, also have had trouble taking and processing applications.
Republican critics in the House have written to ask HHS about reports of Web enrollment problems. And some opponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have asked consumers not to enroll in 2014 coverage. But no one’s talked much about the mechanics of how consumers will enroll in Medicaid and individual plans in the exchanges without consumers having reliable access.
America’s Health Insurance Plans declined to address exchange problem contingency plans. Karen Ignagni, president of AHIP, and Scot Serota, chief executive officer of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, said Monday in a joint statement that “experienced systems experts from across the industry” are working with exchange managers to address operational issues.
“As the new marketplaces move forward, we’re confident consumers will be able to get the coverage they need,” Ignagni and Serota said.
