Experts Suggest Software Problems, Not Just Demand, May Be Behind Marketplace Glitches
Insurance companies confirm a small number of successful signups through the federal website.
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Insurance companies confirm a small number of successful signups through the federal website.
The federal health insurance marketplace continued to frustrate consumers Wednesday with delays and software failures, but some people also reported progress.
What you need to know about signing up for ACA marketplace coverage: There are new benefits, and what you pay depends on your age, your address and how much you earn.
The online marketplaces, also known as exchanges, sell plans effective as soon as Jan. 1. But they got a rocky launch, with software glitches in some cases and implementation delays in others.
The federal government is running the online marketplaces in 34 states; Sixteen have built their own systems, which may be set up differently, using federal money from the Affordable Care Act.
Many are relieved they can no longer be rejected by insurers but anxious about whether they will be able to afford the new policies.
The only state-run exchange in the South faces challenges from political opponents and an uninformed, skeptical public.
Report shows wide variation across the country, with some states that opposed implementation of the health law boasting lower-than-average rates.
From free preventive services, including birth control, to the rule barring insurers from charging women more than men, the law recasts the rules of the road for women's health coverage.
New measures are announced after 17 states hostile to the law restrict the work of consumer navigators.
The uninsured rate for 2012 dropped slightly from 15.7 percent to 15.4 percent, largely because of an increase in people enrolled in public insurance programs.
Some enrollees will have to pay more for coverage in new exchanges, while others may lose out in states that do not expand Medicaid.
Maine, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Vermont are tightening eligibility requirements to shift some residents receiving Medicaid benefits into the online insurance marketplaces created by the health law.
More than 100 organizations receive money to help consumers sign up for coverage in online marketplaces in 34 states.
Some could get help buying private coverage by projecting their future incomes to exceed the federal poverty level.
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