Healthcare-dot-gov, as we all know, is something of a clusterfuck.
I applied very early, within the first week, and my identity verification took until about two weeks ago. And then, promptly thereafter, the website wouldn’t let me log on anymore — though that has been fixed again, and now I can log on.
But I see no next steps. Like, everything just says IN PROGRESS, with no “Click Here For Plans!” magic button. I called the number (it should be noted that every phone conversation has been immediately connected and very helpful with excellent customer service) and they told me they will now review my application and physically mail me paperwork so that I can apply — she swore this would happen before the deadline of December 23rd (which is what would be necessary to get me onto a plan by Jan 1st in order to stop paying the monthly chest of gold and blood to COBRA).
Anyone else have experience here? This accurate to your experience? I was made to understand the whole thing might be online, though perhaps this represents a shift in how they’re mitigating tech fails is by ushering some of the burden to physical paperwork.
(For the record, this blog post is not an excuse to get into the OBAMACARE SUCKS or YAY ACA discussion. I’m looking for practical information based on some kind of evidence here. Thanks!)
Mike says:
I had some problems at first, then was able to go in and sign up for a cheap Gold-level plan very easily the second time. However, I still haven’t received any paperwork for that plan, and when I went back to the Maryland state exchange website, the plan wasn’t listed anywhere on my account. I’m hoping to get someone on the phone this week if the plan is still absent from the web account.
Good luck to you and everyone getting this to come through.
December 9, 2013 — 11:35 AM
terribleminds says:
Yeah, I’m wondering if the tech side of things is just failing them and so we’re seeing a shift to paperwork? Which could be worryingly slow given their imposed deadlines here. Hmmm.
December 9, 2013 — 11:36 AM
LexyWolfe says:
My guess is that Healthcare.gov was not imagined to have to support the full weight of the entire country trying to get healthcare insurance. Each state was supposed to set up their own exchanges, leaving Healthcare.gov to be a backup or second option if you didn’t like your state’s offerings. Instead, you had the “conscientious objectors to Obamacare” refusing to leverage the behavior of insurance (more insured, more spread out the costs are across the board) by encouraging more people to get it.
Find out if the new insurance would cover any medical expenses incurred from the date of application instead of the date of acceptance and nag them for the paperwork. Sometimes they will make allowances for administrative delays. Also, see if they can’t fax it to you or something to get things moving.
December 9, 2013 — 11:38 AM
andeparks says:
I went early to apply, as you did. Ran into an unworkable site. Stayed away for a month or so. Went back recently, still found it difficult to finish our application. So, I called in and got hold of very helpful operators. One of them was able to hit submit on my application. Then, several days of not being able to log into the site. today I can log in and look at the plans available to me.
Unfortunately, all this has been for naught. Because we are covered under my wife’s plan through her job, the kids and I have very limited options. We might save a few bucks by leaving the coverage we have, but since we don’t qualify for a subsidized plan (we’re already covered by an employer) the savings would not justify the uncertainty of switching.
So, we are staying put and hoping that the ACA will eventually drive costs down for everyone. Fingers crossed.
By the way, we’re in Kansas. That doesn’t help. Our shithead Governor is totally opposed to the ACA, so has done nothing to help the state’s citizens eligible for more options. KanCare (which the kids would have to join to get coverage if we left the wife’s plans) scares me, with our state leadership constantly cutting health services.
December 9, 2013 — 11:40 AM
nytwriter227A.J. Church says:
I have not had the misfortune to deal with the Healthcare site because I’m a veteran covered by the VA, but I have a sneaky suspicion all these sites were created by the same incompetent entity. I blogged a rant on that last week here: http://bit.ly/1aGNsPR.
December 9, 2013 — 11:43 AM
catyorkc says:
I called back in October and “signed up” very easily. It took about an hour, I didn’t have to give the info I thought I had to give and the assistant found a decent plan right away. Welcome packet came a week later and once we’d read the plan carefully, we wanted to upgrade. (Great preventative plan, not so good deductible for emergencies.) Too hard to get a call through to change things — but it looked like we had a policy come January no matter what.
Friday Healthcare.gov actually called me and left a message. They need more info to process everything. Probably the info I had handy my first phone call, but no one asked me for it. I will be on the phone today, clearing it up. I hope.
How I wish I wish I wish we could skip past all this and just get to the decade where we’ve figured out that a single payer system works just fine.
December 9, 2013 — 11:46 AM
Mark Carroll says:
Likely, your best bet is to call the people behind the site directly – 800-318-2596. They should be able to see where the app is insofar as any subsidies go. You can *also* call whatever insurance company you were wanting a policy with directly and see if they’ve gotten the paperwork yet.
December 9, 2013 — 11:47 AM
rburrell says:
Anecdotally at least, I’ve heard of people in similar situations having very quick success when they go in and create totally new profiles – might be worth trying. (I haven’t tried this myself)
December 9, 2013 — 11:48 AM
Heather says:
I found the call-to-action buttons on the page you’re talking about designed poorly. They were (when I signed up) just green areas with no text that shouts “Click here for your next step” and I’m pretty sure they didn’t even have cursor:pointer; set in the CSS – so until I accidentally clicked on one of them, I had no idea how to proceed.
December 9, 2013 — 11:55 AM
katie says:
From what I’ve heard, even if it looks like everything has processed and it even says you are signed up for coverage, that still could be untrue, as the behind-the-scenes stuff is functioning weirdly. Especially if you did it early on. I know of no way of finding out if coverage you think you have has even been processed, but I haven’t kept up on the paper-based side of things.
December 9, 2013 — 12:06 PM
catyorkc says:
This is totally true. Just found out it happened to me. I went through a phone call in October, got my packet and letter saying we were signed up and would be getting our cards January 1st. Called today to find I have an account, but my application was never processed. Just spend an hour+ on the phone. Rep says application is accepted and I can shop for policies now. Logged in and can’t get past a certain page. It’s wacked. It’s like someone’s playing a huge joke on us.
December 9, 2013 — 1:05 PM
Jeanie says:
We are lucky in CA not have to deal with the federal site. The process here can be confusing and frustrating, but found out that there are friendly local agents who will help us through the process in their private (not govt) office. Wonder if you can do the same.
December 9, 2013 — 12:29 PM
Danno Bikes says:
When Massachusetts rolled this out years ago it was Romneycare and I had the same issues you are having now. Delay took months and I got dinged on my tax return for being uninsured for 3 months when I called to sign up the day after u changed jobs to a new one that didn’t offer healthcare (bicycle mechanic). Don’t let them tell you you missed the boat because of their error!
December 9, 2013 — 12:49 PM
Susannah says:
We logged on in mid-October, were able to submit our application, and subsequently received an email with an attached pdf confirming our eligibility. Last week we went back on the site to shop for a health plan, and again, while the site definitely has some serious usability issues, we were able to compare and choose a plan. Unfortunately, that’s when it all went pear-shaped. After choosing and enrolling in a Humana plan, Healthcare.gov sent us to the Humana site to arrange payment … only the Humana page kept turning up an error. After half an hour on hold waiting to talk to someone at Humana, we got a very harried customer service rep who told us that their entire system was completely down. She said it would take them a few days to process our enrollment and if we didn’t hear back from them in a few days to call them again. Still no word from Humana, so I guess we’ll be calling them back…
December 9, 2013 — 1:16 PM
Susannah says:
Just an update that we did actually get an email from Humana today confirming that they received our enrollment application from Healthcare.gov and are processing it. Their site was even working well enough for us to input our payment information, although it still froze on the last step and we had to call to confirm it had gone through.
December 10, 2013 — 6:11 PM
LM Pampuro says:
Chuck – I am going to confess first that I have an insurance license. This may not make me an expert in some folks eyes yet here in CT going directly through the carrier has produced similar rates to what is on the exchange, at least so far. Connecticut opted for their own state exchange.
You may want to find an agent you can trust and ask their opinion since every state is different.
December 9, 2013 — 1:59 PM
Marc Cabot says:
DO NOT LET YOUR COBRA* COVERAGE LAPSE UNTIL YOU HAVE A NEW HEALTH INSURANCE CARD IN YOUR QUIVERING, TRIUMPHANT HANDS.
Among many other issues, the part of the website that talks to insurers and, you know, makes sure you’re actually enrolled in an insurance plan, is not working.
Did I say not working? I meant not finished.
Did I say not finished? I meant not built yet.
So at this point, although it appears that the front end is almost kinda sorta working and we’ve gone from a pure black heifer to only a ratty old three-legged goat being required as a sacrifice in many cases, it is ANYBODY’S guess as to whether anyone at all, “successfully enrolled” or not, will have active and usable insurance come Der Tag. Please stand by.
*Actually HIPPA but everybody calls it COBRA so that’s okay. COBRA is an infinitely cooler acronym.
December 9, 2013 — 2:53 PM
Marc Cabot says:
Oh, and re: “… here in CT going directly through the carrier has produced similar rates to what is on the exchange, at least so far.”
Quite true. However, you can only get subsidies* if you buy through the exchange. So if you might even theoretically be eligible for a subsidy, buying direct from the carrier is a Really Bad Idea. No offense.
*This is what the law says, however, nothing that the law says has proven to be any kind of restriction or even guide as to how it will actually be implemented so your mileage may vary.
December 9, 2013 — 2:55 PM
catyorkc says:
Also, I’m finding (now that my application is actually processed and I’m able to shop for a policy) that the network under the company you choose really makes a difference. Our current doctors are on certain established networks through BCBS. A policy for those networks cost more than it does for the same plan through a new network (from what I’m seeing, about $100 more per month). If you try a new network, it’s cheaper for the same plan, but you can’t tell which health care professionals will be on that network yet –– not until it’s all broken in and moving forward. I’m pretty torn between taking a plan for a $100 a month more just to ensure I have a wider choice of doctors in the network, and going a little cheaper and seeing if my doctors get a contract with that network. It’s a gamble.
This might just be something I’m seeing through BCBS in Tennessee. Please correct me if I’m wrong. It just looks that way to me. I’ve been comparing all day.
December 9, 2013 — 3:19 PM
theimp says:
Hi, I am Canadian so never had to worry about insurance companies. What I don’t understand is why some people in the US object so strongly to single payer. And before anyone brings it up, yes, we do have to wait – usually if it’s not that serious or if you fall into the cracks – and yes I have heard the horror stories but frankly such problems seem fairly infrequent and most people here would not trade our system for yours in spite of the problems.
December 9, 2013 — 3:33 PM
Betsy says:
OMG we are in HELL over this! We have an individual family plan that ends Dec. 31. The deadline to sign up for a new plan is Dec. 15. Otherwise, our carrier Anthem automatically pushes us into a new, more expensive plan that does not cover ANY of the doctors we have been seeing for over 10 years. None of the Covered California plans cover our doctors, which are in a pretty good-sized group. We are looking at PPO plans, not HMOs, but the lists of in-network doctors are restrictive. We’re now getting pricing at Cigna–you can’t look it up directly because they only work with insurance brokers. Our broker has been very sick, so she finally got someone else to cover for her. Sigh! Ack! It’s ABSOLUTELY AWFUL!
December 9, 2013 — 4:07 PM
Dave Blogger (@Dave_Blogger) says:
I was able to sign up very easily. I waited a few weeks (early Nov) and got right on. Most of my complaints are about insurance in general and how confusing that is. Yes, the website could be better & clearer at explaining somethings but otherwise I had little trouble.
That being said, I haven’t paid for it yet (waiting for next pay check for that) and they still haven’t gotten back to me on what our tax break/subsidy will be (but even if we get $0, we are still paying $800+ less than before) so we’ll see what happens then.
December 9, 2013 — 4:54 PM
obsidianpoet says:
I am in KY and we have our own site for that and they don’t mail you anything. You do it all online. I was miffed b/c I couldn’t seem to get the tax breaks. I don’t make 400% of the poverty level of a single person and I am supporting three! It has been daunting in the least. Good idea but bad execution. My dad could probably get his cheaper but I fear what happens if it is repealed? With a pre-existing condition? I wish you luck. Keep calling!
December 9, 2013 — 5:19 PM
Brenda Hovdenes (@B_Hovey) says:
I jumped on right away in October and had problems upon problems upon problems. I’d give it a try about every other day, and once I finally got to enter our personal information near the beginning of November, I got stuck in an infinite loop. It wanted me to decide how much of the subsidy we wanted to use each month (that was listed as $0) and when I choose it, it wanted me to decide how much of the subsidy we wanted to use each month. I called twice and spoke to two very helpful representatives, who were unable to help me.
A week ago, they had the option to ‘delete application’ so I did that and tried again, reentering all of our personal information. It worked! Not only did we actually get a subsidy, but I could go past the loop and look at plans.
I haven’t actually signed up for a plan yet because even with the subsidy, the plan we’re going to need is out of our budget right now, so I don’t have any experience further than that.
December 9, 2013 — 5:43 PM
furrama says:
Sounds like signing up for Medicaid/WIC, (which I have done). Only less dehumanizing.
December 9, 2013 — 6:43 PM
Betsy says:
I’ve never dealt with Medicaid/WIC, and we don’t get any subsidies. So we’re paying out of pocket, the same as before, but this is way harder than just picking a plan and signing up for it, which is what we’ve done in the past since I’m a freelance writer and my husband is a consultant. We don’t have employer plans. We’re each separate sole proprietors, so we’ve had to buy health insurance for years.
One thing that’s better is that the max out-of-pocket is capped and consistent across all plans. That is WAY better than before, but the deadline is problematic for us because the insurance companies are still negotiating with the doctors offices.That happens every December, but this year is more complicated than in the past because of the new rules.
Here in California, we’re not allowed to extend our existing plans until this gets settled in spite of what Obama said because the board of the Covered California Health exchange voted unanimously against it. So we’re faced with picking a plan that we don’t like all that much to comply with the deadline to avoid being automatically pushed into a more expensive plan. Then we’ll probably have to cancel it and start over with yet another plan in the new year after the negotiations are done and we know which plans our doctors will accept.
December 9, 2013 — 7:52 PM
Marc Cabot says:
“Here in California, we’re not allowed to extend our existing plans until this gets settled in spite of what Obama said because the board of the Covered California Health exchange voted unanimously against it.”
They voted against it because it would have been illegal to allow it. The law is quite clear, right, wrong or indifferent.
December 9, 2013 — 8:28 PM
Annie says:
It took me weeks of obsessive trying to finally get on the website, after that it didn’t take me too long to peruse their plans. Sadly, I’m too broke for actual health insurance until I get a better job so I didn’t get further than poking at the plans for a few minutes. The site was sort of a clusterfuck last time I was on but I haven’t bothered checking back to see if it got better.
December 9, 2013 — 10:18 PM
catyorkc says:
It took a while, but I found a plan today (again) and figured out how to make a first payment. Labyrinth unlocked, at least. Getting the cards and finding out which doctors are in our network is a whole different story. I still have my fingers crossed. Like Betsy said, the out-of-pocket costs are capped now. Pre-existing isn’t a problem anymore. It’s a step up from the system we had. And the time I spent trying to figure stuff out today beats a month of underwriting with a denial at the end.
I commented a lot here today because I was in frustration land. Thanks, Chuck, for opening the discussion. I read through everyone’s comments. It’s a big puzzle that I hope will get sorted out quickly come January.
December 9, 2013 — 10:39 PM
Susannah says:
I totally agree about the old system. My husband’s a contractor so we had to go through this same process a year ago, pre-ACA, and that was so much more stressful. Even with all its problems, I’ll take Healthcare.gov over the hours we spent answering long, tedious questionnaires about every single prescription we’ve filled in the last five years and every single doctor’s office visit, only to be turned down for some stupid reason and have to start the process all over again with another insurance company. We got turned down by one because I’d had bronchitis a couple of times and by another because my husband is borderline for Type 2 diabetes. We were terrified we wouldn’t be able to get coverage at all, and back then, if you let your insurance lapse your pre-existing conditions wouldn’t be covered anymore. It was a nightmare.
December 10, 2013 — 6:02 PM
Betsy says:
Marc Cabot, I’m not opposed to the law, but when the Covered California website went live, it should have included basic information about which doctors are included in the network for each plan. The same info should have been available for all carriers with plans in 2014. It’s very frustrating to want to be organized, and not be able to because of missing information. I hate waiting until the eleventh hour like this, but that’s where we are–hoping to get the final details of a plan tomorrow that includes our doctors so we can fill out the application and turn it in before the Dec. 15 deadline.
December 10, 2013 — 12:37 AM
Marc Cabot says:
You’re absolutely right. It should have included a lot of information. However, some of it it couldn’t include – like which doctors are on which networks for which plans – because it is not yet known/still being negotiated. And some of it it was deliberately designed not to include – like how much each plan costs before subsidies – because it would have scared people/made the system look bad.
The people who wrote this law had little or no understanding of the actual nuts and bolts of the health insurance system and its regulation. (I work in the legal department of a medium-sized company: reviewing insurance policies and renewals is one of the things I do all the time.) There are very few systems of any size which can stop, hover, or turn on a dime, and the health insurance system is not one of them. These plans take *months* to certify. The President can announce whatever he damn well pleases, but issuing demands in November about plans that are supposed to be active January 1st is rather a King Canute sort of exercise.
And yes, he did say they (mostly the IRS) wouldn’t enforce the rules. Well and good. It’s his oath, he can decide how to fulfill it, and practically speaking, he probably does have that discretion.. But that doesn’t change the fact that it would be illegal to offer noncompliant plans and I assure you that there are thousands of individuals and conservative action groups who already have the complaints drafted, naming the insurance regulatory boards and the individual regulators. The President’s directive has no impact on suits in state or Federal court, or upon the law and regulation of insurance plans at any other level.
I understand your concerns and I do not mean to denigrate or minimize them. I’m a lawyer: insurance companies are my natural enemy. (Lawyers think about insurance companies the same way normal people think about lawyers.) There is plenty of blame to go around and a heaping helping can be ladled right onto the plates of the insurance companies. But almost everything people are most upset about right now is purely the fault of Congress and the Administration.
December 10, 2013 — 9:40 AM
decayingorbits says:
I believe that part of (or maybe the entire) problem is that even though you have signed up in the exchange, that information is not getting transmitted to the insurance providers (the “back end” of the transaction). So, even though you have signed up for insurance through the website, the government has not completed the transaction with whatever provider you have chosen. Which is a nice way of saying this whole thing is still a monumental clusterfuck.
December 10, 2013 — 5:51 AM
Marc Cabot says:
The odds are it has not been transmitted properly if at all. I overspoke above – that part of the system is *built.* (The part that isn’t is the payments system.) But it isn’t working properly. Many applications don’t get transmitted and the ones that do are often incomplete or actively corrupted. And yes, Charlie Foxtrot is just about the right evaluation.
I still haven’t seen anybody triumphantly touted as holding an actual insurance card in a photo op, which tells me that people who have them are thin on the ground and after two successive rounds of announcing “Mission Accomplished” only to have them explode in their faces, the Administration is casting about desperately to find someone who’s successfully enrolled, purchased insurance, been accepted, and found that their premiums were correct and affordable.
(Yes I am aware that insurance cards are typically mailed in January for CY policies. Trust me, if there are complete and billable policies coming into existence, the insurance companies are under HEAVY pressure to issue those cards.)
December 10, 2013 — 9:45 AM
decayingorbits says:
More disturbing is wondering where all of your personal information has been “transmitted” to. Likely some internet cafe in Transnistria.
December 10, 2013 — 3:40 PM
Betsy says:
We finally got an application done! Our regular agent has been sick for 3 weeks, but one of her co-workers verified the quote that we found, and while I was on the phone, she submitted directly to the insurance company for us. Sheesh!
December 10, 2013 — 6:39 PM
lisa says:
Although the goal is full online automation most every state is having the same glitches. I contacted my Senators for assistance and many are working on extensions for signing up as they know we cannot make their deadlines. Not sure which state you live in (so I won’t post the Senator replies in the post since it would be irrelevant for most) but recommend contacting your representatives as they are aware of these issues, have actionable plans/ideas for implementation and they are they are really the only experts at this time. Good luck.
December 11, 2013 — 7:55 AM
Doreen Queen says:
I live in Idaho, one of the many states whose governor is refusing to get on-board with the ACA and expand Medicaid so that my boyfriend can actually have health insurance. I’ve two experiences with the process – the first trying to enroll my boyfriend and the second for myself.
It did not take very long to verify my boyfriend’s application – as I mentioned, he would qualify for the expanded Medicaid if our governor allowed it, and there were several options available to him – if he had the money to purchase the plan. Because of his (lack of) income and the lack of the Medicaid expansion, he is exempt from having to have a policy effective January 1st, so all is well with him, except he still has no coverage.
As for me, I am extremely fortunate. Despite my disability, there are many plans now available to me. I’ve hung onto my $1000-per-month insurance like a raggedy blanket, clutching it for dear life, afraid that I’d never qualify for anything again because of “preexisting conditions” – however, it appears with that gone, I can purchase a plan at half the cost I’ve been paying with supposedly the same coverage or close to it. They also referred my application to the State’s Medicaid plan to see whether I qualified through them as well – which I probably won’t because I make too much money between my pension and SSDI. I’ve taken a huge leap of faith and enrolled in the new coverage – paid for it, even — and been reassured that by the end of the month, I’ll have a new enrollment card. I’ve spoken with the company three separate times and been reassured every time that, yes, I really have coverage. We’ll see come January 1st…
All in all, I found that the governmental site was rather easy to use and that the variety of plans was pretty reasonable. I’m not sure if that’s because Idaho’s marketplace is better than other states or what. Again, until I actually have an enrollment card in my cold little hands and start seeing how the insurance really pays, I am reserving judgment. I also hung onto my dental coverage through my former employer to ensure that if this year is a complete bust, I can get my old policy back again, come next November.
Here’s hoping that everyone else who’ve commented negatively find the process a little easier this month!
December 17, 2013 — 10:25 AM