Health care sign-ups come with hurdles

The Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace launched on Tuesday, but not without glitches or confusion.

More than 1 million people nationwide visited healthcare.gov Tuesday morning, causing trouble for people trying to log in to the system.

Alicia Hartinger, a public affairs specialist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said in an email that HHS is working to fix these issues and improve the website’s function.

In the meantime, consumers can contact the call center or use the website’s live chat function.

Bloomington community leaders said they are more worried that citizens are unaware the new system even exists.

Nancy Woolery, the health projects manager for Bloomington, organized Bloomington’s Affordable Care Act Committee this summer. The committee plans on presenting several information sessions to local consumers at the public library this fall.

Bloomington resident David Meyer has organized a group that aims to educate the public about their options in the marketplace. His group, Affordable Care Act Volunteers of Monroe County, is organizing a meeting tonight at the Monroe County Public Library to recruit and train volunteers.

Meyer said he hopes to train volunteers to be able to help consumers understand how the process works.

“My job is difficult because there is so much confusion and different sources of information,” Meyer said. “Only 32 percent of uninsured individuals know about the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and even fewer know that there is financial support and subsidies for those who qualify.”

Meyer said the political nature of the ACA has made educating the public more difficult.

“Most of what people hear about the ACA is the partisan political battle in the news,” Meyer said. “But none of that information is actually important to the uninsured.”

Woolery is in the process of becoming an Indiana Certified Marketplace Navigator to help people fill out applications.

“Navigators go through extensive training, testing, a background check and they must also sign a conflict of interest statement,” said Dennis Rosebrough, the communications director for the Indiana Department of Insurance.

The Indiana General Assembly passed HB1319 in the 2013 legislative session, giving DOI the responsibility to license navigators.

Rosebrough said there are 97 certified navigators and 155 in various stages of the training process.

Rosebrough said in addition to training navigators, his department has been ensuring the plans and providers meet Indiana regulations.

He said the biggest problem with the implementation of the ACA so far has been that the federal government did not want the state involved in public education, because Indiana chose a federally operated exchange.

“People don’t know who to turn to for help,” Rosebrough said. “They call us and we have to refer them to the federal website or 1-800 number.”

Scott Stowers is the regional manager for Individual Solutions, a department of IU Health that helps uninsured and under-insured clients find health coverage.

Stowers said Individual Solutions has a team of seven certified marketplace navigators who have undergone training and testing to help people evaluate their options.

“People are confused,” Stowers said. “Specific plan information is not available, and the federal website is not functioning.”

Stowers said his staff had been trying to log in to and load the website for several hours Tuesday morning with no luck.

“There is some chatter that there may be a delay in the marketplace and enrollment may have to wait a couple weeks, but those rumors are unconfirmed,” Stowers said.
Stowers said his office is able to answer basic questions and schedule follow-up appointments when more information is available.

“Most people are concerned about the rates, and we cannot see those until we can get into the website,” Stowers said.

Last week, HHS released a report on the predicted premiums for plans in the new exchange.

Individuals and families will be able to choose from a variety of bronze, silver, gold and platinum plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace, according to the report.

The ACA defines the plan levels based on actuarial value, the average percentage of health care expenses paid by the plan. The higher the actuarial value, the less the out-of-pocket expenses. The bronze plan has the lowest actuarial value and the platinum plan has the highest.

Young adults will also have the option of choosing a catastrophic plan that would cover prevention, some primary care and high costs in cases of major accidents or illnesses.

Premiums tend to be lower in states where there is more competition and transparency, according to the report.

Arizona, for example, has an average of 106 qualified health plans, whereas Indiana only has 34.  The premium in Arizona for a young adult buying a bronze plan is only $141. In Indiana the premium is $200.

Follow reporter Brianna Meyer on Twitter @brimmeyer.