“Simple mistakes” plagued Connecticut health exchange during first month
We were led to believe Access Health CT was a shining example of what was going right with the health care insurance initiative, but it turns out 2,400 enrollees were provided incorrect information about the plan they selected during the month of October. Some signed up for no-deductible plans that ended up having a $3,000 deductible.
The Hartford Courant is downplaying the issue, but every shopper who was looking at individual plans was provided with wrong information at the website. Get this … they knew the information was wrong in September, but let the site launch anyway and didn’t have the correct information posted until Oct. 30.
The website for Access Health CT, the state’s new health exchange, had incorrect information online about deductibles and co-insurance impacting all 19 individual health plans from the three insurance companies that offer those plans through the exchange: Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Connecticut, ConnectiCare, and HealthyCT. The 12 small-group plans were unaffected.
Access Health CT would not say how the problem started, or who was responsible. The exchange did say that the problem was discovered in late September and was fixed by Oct. 30.
So as those 2,400 people were signing up for plans, those selling the plans knew the information was wrong, but they just let them select and sign up anyway.
Where was the media? How did this not leak before now? Letters were sent out to applicants more than five weeks ago telling them premium amounts were correct, but quoted out-of-pocket maximums and deductibles were wrong … way too low in this case.
John Javaruski, a 62-year-old retired actuary from Farmington, said he received a letter dated Nov. 1 after he signed up for an Anthem plan with a $2,000 out-of-pocket maximum and zero deductible. According to the revised schedule of benefits attached to the letter, Javaruski’s plan jumped to $6,250 out of pocket and a $3,000 deductible.
That’s a big mistake! I wonder if anyone was quoted a deductible that was too high and they told them “hey, we screwed up … your quoted deductible was $3,000 but it’s only really $1,500!” I doubt it.
I suggest the media get out there and find out exactly what the difference was between the original quote and what all 2,408 applicants ended up with.
Of course, people will claim “what difference does it make now” and “why am I looking at the past?”
4 Comments
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Simple mistakes, err, duh, simple mistakes that cost real people real money and time.
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I’ve tried to use the snarly thing . . . not very pretty.
We STILL aren’t done with it. Kinda reminds me of a certain regime in the 1940’s, all of the documents? and forms necessary, your papers . . .
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As Michael Dukakis was famous for saying when he screwed up big: it was an “oversight”.
I will be a broken record here. The ?least important thing wrong with Obamacare is the website, the problem is the whole darn plan. I could care less, if they fix the stupid website, the whole ACA should be scuttled because the goal was to be affordable and it isn’t.
The failed website is just a small harbinger of the gross failures to come when the plan comes into full effect (if that ever actually hapoens with the endless goalpost moves).? If they can’t get the relatively easy stuff working, they don’t have a prayer of getting the tough stuff right.? And this functioning includes ensuring the safety of our personal information, which is currently at a state that security experts have compared to rolling around naked in a hospital dumpster. ?
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It is essential to use these early failures to sensitize people for the big failures with their associated propaganda blitzes.
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