Obamacare update: Consumers see progress but insurers smell trouble

As the Obama administration closes in on its self-imposed deadline to fix the troubled online health insurance marketplace, consumer advocates say it is becoming easier for people to sign up for coverage but insurers warn that critical flaws continue to hinder participating health plans.

Administration officials have promised that HealthCare.gov will be working smoothly for most people by Saturday and are citing evidence indicating progress toward that goal. Workers helping people sign up for coverage have noticed that the site has been running better over the past two weeks, with consumers experiencing shorter wait times and fewer crashes.

But the online system is still marred by defects that will create havoc for insurance companies if a significantly larger volume of applicants starts to sign up in coming weeks. Among them are the error-riddled reports that insurers are receiving about who has enrolled, a problem that could be disastrous if not fixed soon.

There is little room for error at this point. People seeking to take advantage of the new coverage that kicks in Jan. 1, or whose health insurance policies are being canceled at the end of the year, have until Dec. 23 to choose a plan and until Dec. 31 to pay their first month’s premium. Some congressional Democrats, uneasy about the messy rollout of the exchange, have expressed a willingness to dismantle parts of the law if problems continue.

“If they get this fixed, it’s a chapter in somebody’s book. If they don’t get this fixed, it’s a chapter in history,” said Michael O. Leavitt (R), a former Utah governor who served as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services during the tumultuous rollout of Medicare Part D, which added prescription drug coverage to Medicare. “They will need to demonstrate fairly soon that there’s improvement, or they will lose the support of their own party.”

On Friday, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) told Minnesota Public Radio that if the Web site isn’t fixed on time, he would consider delaying the rule requiring most Americans to carry health insurance or face a fine. He joins a growing chorus of Democrats in Congress who have advocated for changes or delays to the law that could weaken it.

Administration officials contend that they are on track. By Saturday, they said, they will have doubled capacity to allow at least 50,000 users at a time without the system malfunctioning. They are also working on a new system that gives people alternate ways to sign up for coverage and get government subsidies, including going directly to insurers’ corporate Web sites.

They are also moving on to the outreach phase, which had taken a back seat as they grappled with the faulty Web site. Next week, the White House will host an insurance-oriented “youth summit” aimed at people ages 18 to 35, an age group whose participation in the health-care law will be critical to its success.

Via: Washington Post
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