ACA Federal Marketplace updates

[ERhoosier]

My main interest in local Exchange plans was getting details about carrier networks. Local press articles suggest that my current carrier's coming network changes (cuts) would be showing up first in Exchange plans.

 

[NoMoreJob]

Our state's exchange was down all day. Sometimes it would let me enter my info. but it would never take me to the available plans. That changed late this evening and shortly thereafter the site was taken down - hopefully for fixes.

Well, there's always tomorrow provided the fixes work.

 

[clifp]

I logged into the Hawaii Insurance Connector, which as Sept 30 was suppose to go live and let me compare insurance plans on Oct 1. After spending 30 minutes looking in vain, for sort of important stuff like what plans were available and what the cost were I gave up. Despite the existence of a blog on the site. The turkey's didn't 't have the common curtsey of pointing out that oh prices won't be available until later.

I filled out an application,which looked like was taken directly from printed version.
I filled out one correctly. the other one I just entered a 12 digit phone no error checking was performed but the system accepted my application. If I want to apply for a subsidy I have to print out a different form and fill it out by hand and mail it in.

I have spent enough time around software and web development to know pre alpha software when I see it .

 

[samclem]

It appears that people are using the sites, in large part, to get information about available plans. To get that info under the present configurations apparently requires a lot of logins and interaction with the servers, which obviously uses a lot of capacity. It would probably have been better to make the info available in a separate "flat" site or at least prior to login/user data entry, with all this interaction reserved for people ready to enter data and make the leap.

Well, we can't expect it to work correctly on day one. Who could have known that a lot of people might log on to these sites, or what the data sharing requirements would be?

 

[marko]

Well, we can't expect it to work correctly on day one. Who could have known that a lot of people might log on to these sites, or what the data sharing requirements would be?

Why can't we expect it to work on day one? They knew this day was coming. Where was the stress testing? Where was the critical design review?

"Who could have know that a lot of people might log on?" Uhhhh...I did! They been telling us about the "millions of uninsured" for a few years...what? they thought nobody would be checking this out?

Or are we expecting too much to expect a 'business' approach to this?

 

[jetpack]

While I don't pretend to understand all the nuances, of course DDOS attacks are well known. But there are some things sites can do to help protect themselves.
https://www.networkworld.com/news/tech/2013/091713-defending-against-ddos-273919.html

From what I understand, most issues with the Marketplace today were due to real volume rather than DDOS attack (or other hacks). Some have alleged fed Exchange system had no serious defense in place to address possible DDOS attack. I'm sure we'll see more written about this in the coming days/weeks.

In my case, I did eventually get past 'wait' screen this PM & made it to log-in. Unfortunately, it did not recognize my user ID nor PW. Will try again tomorrow- or next week.

I was trying to use the site yesterday, it's very clear to me that the problems aren't related to volume. The site just didn't work. bugs. For example, not loading the signup form correctly. This is simple stuff. This made the volume worse, as people try and retry to get past the bugs. The sites just weren't ready for prime time.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I was trying to use the site yesterday, it's very clear to me that the problems aren't related to volume. The site just didn't work. bugs. For example, not loading the signup form correctly. This is simple stuff. This made the volume worse, as people try and retry to get past the bugs. The sites just weren't ready for prime time.

I got to the registration page that asked for my answers to three security questions but the dropdown menus for the questions were blank and I could go no farther. I will try again later.

 

[Jerome50]

I got to the registration page that asked for my answers to three security questions but the dropdown menus for the questions were blank and I could go no farther. I will try again later.

I got the blank security questions too, using Chrome on a Mac. Firefox rendered them correctly, but then errored off trying to get a user account.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I got the blank security questions too, using Chrome on a Mac. Firefox rendered them correctly, but then errored off trying to get a user account.

I was using Chrome on a Windows 7 netbook. Maybe I'll try Explorer on a Windows 8 today. Or DH's Mac with whatever browser he uses .

 

[MichaelB]

I can't get through the security questions using either Safari or Chrome. Not problem there using Firefox, but the process still abends.

 

[sengsational]

I haven't even made a single page hit on any of the sites. I figured until you all (my beta testers give me the all clear, I'll just stay out of the way!

 

[easysurfer]

Maybe things will settle down on the weekend when all the folks at w*rk aren't accessing the Marketplace

 

[steelyman]

Maybe things will settle down on the weekend when all the folks at w*rk aren't accessing the Marketplace

Probably.

I'm learning from these discussions. I am not currently affected but it wouldn't surprise me if I were down the road.

 

[ziggy29]

I can't get through the security questions using either Safari or Chrome. Not problem there using Firefox, but the process still abends.

"Abend"... there's an old word from my mainframe programming days!

The *one* time I was able to get through it asked me security questions and asked me three that were relevant (and I knew the answers to) and bizarre fourth one, claiming that I had taken out a veterinary care insurance plan in the last two years, and asked for the name of the pet. Uh, no. I never bought one of those. So I entered "none of the above" and I failed my own identity test.

And the thing is, the church council is holding a special meeting on October 8 to discuss what health insurance, if any, it will offer to us. (The churchwide insurance plan requires them to decide by October 14.) We decided to wait until after the exchanges were open so we could see all the plans there, figure out cost and coverage there, and see if we'd be better off if they elected not to offer us insurance (and instead give us some grossed-up cash to pay the approximate subsidized premium and the loss of some subsidy and tax breaks from the extra cash).

But if we can't get in to look at the possibilities, we're pretty much stuck and we have to commit to an uninformed decision one way or another (which could cost us a lot more than is necessary in direct premium costs or reduced salary). So yes, I'm a little irritated when some people say "you have until December 15, there's no rush!" No, for us, there pretty much *is*.

 

[MichaelB]

"Abend"... there's an old word from my mainframe programming days!

Have I terminally dated myself?

The *one* time I was able to get through it asked me security questions and asked me three that were relevant (and I knew the answers to) and bizarre fourth one, claiming that I had taken out a veterinary care insurance plan in the last two years, and asked for the name of the pet. Uh, no. I never bought one of those. So I entered "none of the above" and I failed my own identity test.

And the thing is, the church council is holding a special meeting on October 8 to discuss what health insurance, if any, it will offer to us. (The churchwide insurance plan requires them to decide by October 14.) We decided to wait until after the exchanges were open so we could see all the plans there, figure out cost and coverage there, and see if we'd be better off if they elected not to offer us insurance (and instead give us some grossed-up cash to pay the approximate subsidized premium and the loss of some subsidy and tax breaks from the extra cash).

But if we can't get in to look at the possibilities, we're pretty much stuck and we have to commit to an uninformed decision one way or another (which could cost us a lot more than is necessary in direct premium costs or reduced salary). So yes, I'm a little irritated when some people say "you have until December 15, there's no rush!" No, for us, there pretty much *is*.

One thing that may help a bit. This is a listing of each plan offered in the federal exchanges. No plan details, and the pricing is just for a couple of clip levels, but for Florida it helped locate plan details and pricing info at the insurers websites. https://www.healthcare.gov/health-plan-information/

If course, if your objective is to get subsidized coverage on the exchange you will have fewer choices.

 

[ziggy29]

One thing that may help a bit. This is a listing of each plan offered in the federal exchanges. No plan details, and the pricing is just for a couple of clip levels, but for Florida it helped locate plan details and pricing info at the insurers websites. https://www.healthcare.gov/health-plan-information/

If course, if your objective is to get subsidized coverage on the exchange you will have fewer choices.

Helps but my situation is pretty complicated. As a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe I've read that we'll have income low enough that I should qualify for any Exchange plan (even a Bronze one) with *no* cost sharing (copays or deductible) on me. That should make it even more attractive to go that route but I don't want to assume that and be wrong before I can *confirm* it through the Exchange itself.

 

[Sue J]

THANK YOU, MichaelB. for this link https://www.healthcare.gov/health-plan-information/

This is some of the information I've been looking for and been unable to find because all I get from www.healthcare.gov is blank pages and messages to try to login later. I've filtered it for my state and county and downloaded the file.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

Helps but my situation is pretty complicated. As a member of a federally recognized Indian tribe I've read that we'll have income low enough that I should qualify for any Exchange plan (even a Bronze one) with *no* cost sharing (copays or deductible) on me. That should make it even more attractive to go that route but I don't want to assume that and be wrong before I can *confirm* it through the Exchange itself.

Enrolled tribal members and their dependents are exempt from the ACA's Individual Mandate, as you may know.

 

[ziggy29]

Enrolled tribal members and their dependents are exempt from the ACA's Individual Mandate, as you may know.

Yes, that I know, but I'm not going to go uninsured so it's irrelevant to me.

 

[Htown Harry]

There were posts a couple of months ago about ehealthinsurance.com being authorized to serve as an alternative to healthcare.gov for plan shopping.

The web site was accessible early this morning (Oct. 3). Just a few fields were needed to get a subsidy estimate, with no special log-in steps.

Unfortunately, their site is not fully operational, either. Only off-exchange, non-subsidized plans are available to review.

We can notify you when the new 2014 health plans (to which you can apply your subsidy) become available.

Or, you can shop from our vast selection of other 2014 health plans. These other plans can't be purchased with government subsidy, but they do provide guaranteed health coverage, help you avoid the tax penalty, and are available for enrollment right now.

You can sign up for an email notification.

SIGN UP

We'll let you know when you can apply for a subsidy through eHealth.

Provide the information below and we'll contact you when the Texas health plans toward which you can apply a subsidy become available on eHealth.

We'll also email you our free, helpful ebook, 5 Steps to Understanding Obamacare.

 

[2B]

There were posts a couple of months ago about ehealthinsurance.com being authorized to serve as an alternative to healthcare.gov for plan shopping.

+1 Bravo!

The ehealthinsurance site is fully functional for me. I wouldn't qualify for the subsidy in year 1 anyway but it supposedly can be applied for on the site. It has four "bronze" plans effective 1/1/2014 for us under $1000. The cheapest is $733 (catastrophic BCBS HMO) and has my doctor in it. I haven't bothered looking up DWs. More research will be needed to confirm which would be the best buy for us.

The options available are about 80% of the cost of the current Texas High Risk Plan. The deductible is somewhat lower. Since I had heard that this plan reguarly lost a little money for the insurers each year, it reaffirms the presumption that the young and healthy are supporting the old and sick.

As I expected, going "gold" raises the premium by about the amount of the reduced deductible. I'd have to look much closer to see if there are other benefits.

One negative is that only BCBS and Cigna are on the site. That's hardly enhanced competition.

P.S. - These "bronze" plans are less than what my Cobra would be although there is a higher deductible.

 

[jflynn4]

For some reason, the only carrier listed on ehealthinsursnce.com in my county is Cigna even though five different companies are selling through the exchanges. For me (age 60), their least expensive option is just over $1100 per month. I will qualify for subsidies so I guess I need to use the exchange .... But even if not, this is still more than $800 per month less than I'm currently paying for "Golden Rule" coverage (which was the lowest cost policy that I could find earlier this year).

 

[rbmrtn]

There were posts a couple of months ago about ehealthinsurance.com being authorized to serve as an alternative to healthcare.gov for plan shopping.

The web site was accessible early this morning (Oct. 3). Just a few fields were needed to get a subsidy estimate, with no special log-in steps.

Thanks for the info. I'm surprised that the Feds just didn't contract with someone like ehealth to run the web side of things, it was already up and running.

For me it finds no 2014 plans. The estimate in the calculator is way off from the others.

 

[2B]

Thanks for the info. I'm surprised that the Feds just didn't contract with someone like ehealth to run the web side of things, it was already up and running.

For me it finds no 2014 plans. The estimate in the calculator is way off from the others.

Sorry about no plans for you. Check back later and wait for your exchange to start working.

The feds were actually aggressively wanting to cut the commercial insurance sites out of their plans because those evil entities made a profit from the fees they charge. They only relented when they finally realized a bizaro beauracracy can't create the functionality in a few months that has evolved over many years in the private sector.

I never understood why any state would spend the money to create their own exchange when the feds could so easily be made responsible. We now have about 16 states pouring money into a bottomless hole when ehealthinsurance.com can do it for them for what is probably a very small fee.

One BIL works for a state agency tied to the ACA. I won't be specific for reasons that should be apparent. The state had a grant from the feds but it was effectively pissed away by endless studies. The state reluctantly ponied up a bit more money. When the decision was finally made to start work, most of the time and almost all of the money was gone. As we all know, the time is now. They weren't ready and it will be a giant mess for several more months. Lots more state money has been thrown at the problem. It's probably not too late to call ehealthinsurance but I'm sure they won't. If they did, poor BIL would be out of work again.

 

[Mulligan]

+1 Bravo!

The ehealthinsurance site is fully functional for me. I wouldn't qualify for the subsidy in year 1 anyway but it supposedly can be applied for on the site. It has four "bronze" plans effective 1/1/2014 for us under $1000. The cheapest is $733 (catastrophic BCBS HMO) and has my doctor in it. I haven't bothered looking up DWs. More research will be needed to confirm which would be the best buy for us.

The options available are about 80% of the cost of the current Texas High Risk Plan. The deductible is somewhat lower. Since I had heard that this plan reguarly lost a little money for the insurers each year, it reaffirms the presumption that the young and healthy are supporting the old and sick.

As I expected, going "gold" raises the premium by about the amount of the reduced deductible. I'd have to look much closer to see if there are other benefits.

One negative is that only BCBS and Cigna are on the site. That's hardly enhanced competition.

P.S. - These "bronze" plans are less than what my Cobra would be although there is a higher deductible.

Your presumption is correct based on a news segment I listened to yesterday. According to this person he said old people consume 7X the medical costs as young people but rates are capped at 3X. Since my "young people" days are way behind me, I personally will not find this pricing scheme offensive. Especially since my rates are already jumping over 3x what I am currently paying.