ACA Open Enrollment Extended 3 Days Due To Technical Glitches But Advocates Worry Message Will Be Missed
The government heeded calls from advocates, experts and lawmakers to extend the deadline for open enrollment. But some say without an effort to publicize that decision, in addition to the short time window, it won't help many consumers. The enrollment deadline extends through Dec. 18.
Reuters:
U.S. Government Extends Deadline To Sign Up For Obamacare Insurance Plans
The U.S. government said on Monday the deadline for signing-up for 2020 insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act has been extended by three days to Dec. 18 to accommodate those who experienced issues while attempting to enroll. There were website glitches and call center delays reported on Sunday, the earlier deadline for the 2020 open enrollment, and the extension should help the final enrollment tally, said Evercore ISI analyst Michael Newshel. (12/16)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Extends Deadline For Affordable Care Act Enrollment
Federal officials said some consumers who logged in or created an account were routed to a waiting system but that it only impacted a portion of consumers for a few minutes. People who contacted the call center were instructed to leave their contact information and would be allowed to enroll in a plan after the Dec. 15 deadline, according to a spokeswoman with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “This additional time will give consumers the opportunity to come back and complete their enrollment for January 1 coverage,” CMS officials said Monday, referring to the deadline extension. (Armour, 12/16)
The Associated Press:
'Obamacare' Sign-Up Deadline Is Extended Following Glitches
On Monday afternoon, the HealthCare.gov website displayed an alert telling people about the deadline extension. But it was in a small font, and a much larger banner directly below still said open enrollment was over, potentially creating confusion. The problems started Sunday, which was the original sign-up deadline. The last day of open enrollment is always the busiest, with hundreds of thousands of people going online or trying to reach the call center. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 12/16)
NPR:
Government Extends Open Enrollment For ACA Health Plans, But Only For 36 Hours
Charles Gaba, an analyst who tracks enrollment in Affordable Care Act exchanges, has a guess as to how many people may have had problems signing up on Sunday. "I'd estimate that it'll be somewhere in the range of around 100,000 people," he says. He notes 36 hours is not a lot of time to let those people know they still have a chance to sign up for coverage in 2020. But "it's better than nothing," he says. (Simmons-Duffin, 12/16)
Seattle Times:
Deadline Extended: There’s Still Time To Get Insurance Through The Washington Health Benefit Exchange
Officials with the exchange waited until after the original deadline to announce the extension because they didn’t want people to put off selecting a plan and miss out on a month of coverage, said Michael Marchand, chief marketing officer for the exchange. (Blethen, 12/16)
Modern Healthcare:
HealthCare.Gov Open Enrollment Extended After Glitches
These aren't the first HealthCare.gov glitches customers have experienced this year. Outages reported on Nov. 1, the first day of open enrollment, may have prevented about 100,000 from choosing a plan that day, according to nationwide campaign Get America Covered.(Livingston, 12/16)
CNN:
Obamacare Enrollment Period Extended Until December 18
Last week, Obama urged more people to sign up for Obamacare in a message in which he showed off his holiday shopping list of gifts for $10 or less -- which, he says, includes health care coverage. Obama called attention to the fact that two-thirds of those with coverage on the federal exchange can find 2020 plans with monthly premiums of $10 or less thanks to premium subsidies, according to federal data. (Cole and Luhby, 12/16)
The Hill:
Trump Administration Extends ObamaCare Enrollment Deadline
As of Dec. 7, more than 3.9 million people had signed up for plans, a 6 percent drop compared to a similar time period last year. But the last few days of open enrollment typically bring a surge of sign-ups, and advocates expressed concern that the website was not able to handle the traffic of tens of thousands of people attempting to enroll. (Weixel, 12/16)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Obamacare Enrollment Reopened For Extra Day And A Half
Georgia has a designated navigator organization, which received a $550,000 federal grant to help people sign up. This year it’s the Georgia Primary Care Association, which represents clinics across the state. The phone number to talk to a navigator is 1-844-442-7421. (Hart, 12/16)
The CT Mirror:
Access Health Extends Open Enrollment Period
Access Health workers are trying new approaches this year to reach the nearly 187,000 Connecticut residents who are still uninsured. Using tools that analyze census tracts, exchange workers identified neighborhoods within cities where a majority of the uninsured people live. In October, they began canvassing homes in those areas – knocking on doors to chat with people about the range of health plans, state subsidies and other available services. Thousands of homes in Hartford, Bridgeport, Norwalk and Fairfield were expected to be visited. (Carlesso, 12/16)
Health News Florida:
Trump Administration Extends Health Insurance Deadline 36 Hours After Glitch Reports
Christie DeNave is the spokeswoman for Florida Blue, the largest insurer in Florida. She said regardless of the reason why, the insurance company is excited to have the extra 36 hours of enrollment time. “We definitely find that there’s a lot of people that wait for the last minute no matter what, so some of them may have let these deadlines slip past them,” DeNave said. “We did experience a heavy rush over the weekend, like we do every year at the end of open enrollment. But we didn’t have any issues with actually getting people signed up. So we were a little surprised to hear that there may have been some problems, perhaps in other areas.” (Aboraya, 12/17)
Miami Herald:
Feds Extend Obamacare Enrollment Deadline
As it has for the past several years, Florida has led the nation in Obamacare enrollment, which remains popular in the state despite efforts by the Trump administration to weaken the law, such as cuts to navigators who help Floridians enroll for ACA coverage and marketing efforts. Jodi Ray, project director of Florida Covering Kids & Families, a navigator group, said they witnessed a surge in traffic of people signing up for plans that may have been caused by technical glitches experienced throughout the enrollment period. (Conarck, 12/16)
And in insurance news from the states —
New Hampshire Union Leader:
Health Care Companies Challenge Order To Stop Selling 'Illegal Health Insurance'
Two health care companies hope that an order for them to stop selling health coverage in New Hampshire will be reversed. One of the companies, Trinity HealthShare, claims the order violates religious freedom rights under the Constitution. On Oct. 30, state Insurance Commissioner John Elias ordered Trinity and its third-party administrator, The Aliera Companies, to stop issuing new plans or renewing coverage in the state. In a statement at the time, Elias called the coverage “illegal health insurance.” (Phelps, 12/16)
Houston Chronicle:
Cigna To End Contract With Memorial Hermann; 178,000 Customers Affected
Cigna, the nation’s fourth-largest health insurance company, on Monday said it would terminate its contract with Houston-based Memorial Hermann hospital system in March, dropping as many as 178,000 plan members and 1,460 affiliated doctors from its network. The move, which comes after months of negotiations over hospital billing rates, would affect anyone with an employer-sponsored Cigna plan. However, those covered under the insurer’s Medicare Advantage program for seniors will not be affected. The contract termination will take effect March 16. (Takahashi, 12/16)
