Wednesday, November 27, 2013

OBAMACAREnosis has spread to the Massachusetts Online Exchange

Sean Kimball of Windsor had a retort ready when friends expressed their objections to the Affordable Care Act. “It’s worked out well for us,” he would say. The 2006 Massachusetts health law, later a model for the national one, provided his family with affordable coverage following a layoff. 
But lately the state’s online insurance marketplace has not been working for Kimball — or for many other consumers. He spent two weeks trying to enroll in a new plan, without success, he said.
Since the state relaunched its insurance website Oct. 1 to comply with the national law, it has had persistent problems: links lead nowhere, technological failures lock users out or deliver inexplicable error messages, and consumers endure long wait times to speak with customer service representatives, who sometimes offer little more than a suggestion to try again later. 
The Connector’s Facebook page is full of complaints from consumers, many of whom said they support the state and national health care laws ideologically but are incensed by an uncooperative website and by the fact that the old, functional state system is gone.
After trying for two weeks, Sean Kimball still is seeking
a plan.
Leaders of the Massachusetts Health Connector, the independent agency that runs the marketplace, say they are working around the clock to address the problems. They say they have brought in experts to help engineer fixes and plan to double the number of people working the hot line by the end of this week. 
[...]
Gov Deval Patrick doing what he does best...scratching
his head.
About 105,000 people who have state subsidized coverage, through a program called Commonwealth Care, must enroll in a new plan in the coming months, and many more people want to shop for insurance. As of Wednesday night, 23,275 people had completed applications, about twice the number at the end of October. Just 1,047 had selected a plan, the last step before paying and becoming fulling enrolled. The website is not yet accepting online payments.
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1 comment:

BOSMAN said...

Mass Health Connect, known for it's efficiency and ease of use, seems to have BEEN INFECTED BY OBAMACARE.

I guess Obamacare has a negative affect on everything it touches.