For the first time since the opening of the federal health insurance exchanges, federal officials are confirming that a software failure is to blame for, at times, shutting down the entire system. An article today on NYTimes.com states:
Todd Park, President Obama’s top technology adviser, said the failure occurred in the part of the Web site that lets people create user accounts at the beginning of the insurance sign-up process. The crash prevented many people from viewing any of their insurance options or gaining access to information on what federal subsidies might be available.
“At lower volumes, it would work fine,” Mr. Park said of the Web site, healthcare.gov. “At higher volumes, it has problems.”
“Right now,” he added, “we’ve got what we think we need. The contractors have sent reinforcements. They are working 24-7. We just wish there was more time in a day.”
Fraser Trebilcock’s Health Care Department first alerted clients on September 25th (Click here to see the story that aired on Fox17, and here for the press release) that individual enrollment in the Federally-facilitated Health Insurance Marketplace would be delayed due to these technical problems. Information technology complications continue to hinder the implementation of several key components of the new Health Insurance Marketplace. The impact of the delay to open enrollment in the Marketplace remains to be seen. It will depend, in large part, on the duration and continued scope of the delay.
To find out more about the impact that the Affordable Care Act has on health care and your business, contact Health Care Department Chair Jonathan Raven at jraven@fraserlawfirm.com or 517.377.0816, or our Employee Benefits Department Co-Chair Elizabeth H. Latchana at elatchana@fraserlawfirm.com or 517.377.0826.