Though Connecticut's health insurance exchange launched much more smoothly than embattled federal site HealthCare.gov, it still faced challenges -- and more are anticipated in the year ahead.
"We're only about three months into a three to four year experience," said Kevin Counihan, president and CEO of Access Health CT, the state's health insurance exchange.
The exchanges are a cornerstone of the Affordable Care Act, the sweeping health care reform legislation also known as Obamacare. They are expected to provide coverage to millions of uninsured, but the program had a rocky launch, particularly in states without their own exchange. Residents of these states had to seek coverage through the federal website, HealthCare.gov, which was plagued with well-publicized technical difficulties.
Connecticut was one of the states that developed its own exchange and Counihan said, though there were hiccups with Access Health CT, the state's rollout went relatively well.
Last week Access Health announced that it was the first state to pass an enrollment goal set by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. As of Dec. 23 -- the last day to enroll for those who wished to be covered by the first of this year -- more than 62,000 had signed up either for Medicaid or one of the three plans offered by private insurance carriers on the exchange.
For those who signed up by the deadline, premiums are due by Jan. 10, though Counihan said he is aware that some of those enrolled haven't received a bill yet. Questions about premiums and coverage should be addressed to the specific plan a customer is enrolled in.
Counihan said there was a rush of people looking to sign up in time to receive coverage by the first of year. On Dec. 23 alone, roughly 6,700 residents and small businesses signed up -- more than double typical enrollment numbers for a single day.
Locally, many of those charged with helping educate residents about the exchange said they saw a last-minute crush of people seeking information. Mory Hernandez, a health care community organizer for the Bridgeport Child Advocacy Coalition, said the last week, she saw roughly two people an hour and had to turn some away. Hernandez is one of the hundreds of people in the state trained as an in-person assister, and is charged with walking people through the exchange and helping connect them with the best options for them.
Hernandez said many people she talked to mistakenly thought that, if they didn't sign up by Dec. 23, they'd pay a penalty, which isn't true. Though most of those who aren't covered by some insurance will have to pay a penalty, consumers have until March 31 to get covered. "People still don't know enough," about the exchange, Hernandez said.
Many state residents are aware that enrollment is still open, as Counihan said enrollment through Access Health CT has remained strong over the past week or so.
"We're still doing a thousand a day," Counihan said. "I would have thought that, after Dec. 23, things would have really dipped."
He said he expects the dip will happen soon, but that it won't last long. "I think it's going to be a really slow January, then pick up in mid-February and March is going to be a zoo," he said.
Despite the success with enrollment, Counihan said there are still several concerns he wants to see addressed down the road. One is that a Spanish language version of the Access Health CT web site still isn't available, though he's expecting it to be ready by the end of January and early February. Counihan said many states have faced challenges with their Spanish sites, because it isn't just a straight translation of the English language site, but basically involves building a whole new separate site.
Other concerns he has moving forward is that the site doesn't refer users to a confirmation page one customers are done enrolling in a plan. Counihan said he would like to see such page added to the site in the near future.
One of his biggest concerns was that, although the website seems to be handling traffic smoothly, the exchange's call center has been understaffed. Counihan said traffic to the center was higher than expected, which has resulted in some people being on hold as long as 20 minutes, and a 16 percent hang-up rate -- both of which he deemed unacceptable.
"People should be able to have their questions answered quickly and thoroughly," he said.
However, Counihan said surveys conducted by Access Health CT show the majority of consumers are satisfied with the process, and some local assisters said that's the impression they've gotten as well. "People are excited to be receiving their medical cards (from coverage they've received through the exchange)," Hernandez said. "It's peace of mind for them, I guess."
Assisters such as Hernandez are overseen by one of six navigator organizations in the state. In Fairfield County, the navigator organization is the Trumbull-based Southwestern Area Health Education Center. Southwestern AHEC executive director Meredith Ferraro said she's heard there's been a lot of enthusiasm from those who have signed up for insurance through the exchange, particularly among those who were previously uninsured. "People do seem to be happy to get insurance," she said.
But Ferraro said she's sure there will need to be more education of consumers down the line. Because some of them haven't had insurance before, or haven't been insured for a long time, she said, some of them might not know how the system works. Ferraro said she'd like to see more instruction on utilization as the program moves forward, but isn't sure when it will happy. "Everything is so new," she said.
acuda@ctpost.com; 203-330-6290; twitter.com/AmandaCuda; http://blog.ctnews.com/whatthehealth/
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