Ill symptoms for health exchange at launch
On its first day of business, New York State of Health, the state”™s newly branded online health benefit exchange, was not in good health.
As the Business Journal went to press, heavy visitor traffic and technical problems continued to hamper the launch of both New York”™s health exchange website and the federal operating system for 34 state exchanges in their second day of business.
The public health plan markets are mandated by the Affordable Care Act and opened Oct. 1 to individuals and small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Individuals and families not covered by a group plan have until next March 31 to enroll for individual coverage that will be required as of Jan. 1, 2014.
The federal exchange website, healthcare.gov, had 4.7 million unique visitors in its first 24 hours, according to federal officials. State Department of Health officials said the New York site, nystateofhealth.ny.gov, received 2 million visits in the first 90 minutes of its launch. “With a website providing so much data to so many people, we are working through these growing pains and are confident users will have better access to the site shortly,” the Health Department assured New Yorkers in a statement.
At The Business Council of Westchester office in Harrison, Glen Ganaway plunged into his new part-time, temporary job as one of the state”™s certified health navigators to guide New Yorkers through the exchange process. More than 25 navigators were stationed at sites in Westchester County for the Oct. 1 opening.
The Business Council has subcontracted with the Community Service Society of New York to educate small businesses about the controversial health care reform law and, with the exchange opening, to provide a navigator to consult with businesses and individuals on an array of health care plans offered in this region and on tax credits for which some businesses with fewer than 25 employees are eligible. Ganaway will be at the Business Council office from 9 a..m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays and will also schedule Saturday appointments, said John Ravitz, the Business Council executive vice president who has led its Affordable Care Act educational initiative.
“It”™s scrolling,” Ganaway told a caller while watching his computer screen at a desk in the Business Council conference room, “and giving the same error message just like you”™re getting. It looks like it”™s really getting hit right now.”
“I came in,” Ganaway said between calls, “sat right down, signed on and had three calls in the first 15 minutes.”
“It is three hours old,” Ganaway said of the state”™s balky exchange website, “and there are a lot of people that are interested in engaging in a 3-hour-old service.”
Ravitz said he had received a dozen calls about the health plan marketplace launch since the previous night. Though the Business Council”™s main mission is to aid its business members and the larger business community with their insurance options, “We”™ve gotten a few calls from individuals,” he said. “We”™re not turning individuals down.”
“These first few weeks, people need to take a breath on both sides,” Ravitz said. “This is a huge sea change for New York state and the country and it”™s all happening at the same time. It”™s going to be a roller coaster but I think that New York state is going to be way ahead compared to other states.”
Regarding the federal government shutdown that started on the same day as the exchange launch and was a result of House Republicans”™ fierce continued opposition to Obamacare and the health insurance mandates, Ravitz said, “I think that is going to muddy the waters.”
“Throughout this whole process, we”™ve seen that denial is probably the biggest obstacle” when educating and preparing business owners for Obamacare. “We”™re not supporting the Affordable Care Act or opposing the Affordable Care Act. We”™re saying the Affordable Care Act is here.”
At J.D. Moschitto & Associates Inc., an employee benefits brokerage and consulting firm in White Plains, insurance broker James P. Schutzer was not impressed with the state of New York State of Health on opening day.
“I didn”™t see much,” he said. “We never even got off the ground as far as brokers.”
Schutzer, president-elect of the New York State Association of Health Underwriters, completed the certification required of brokers who want to do business on the state exchange. At the launch, he was expecting an email from state health officials that would include his invitation code to log in as a broker.
It never came.
“I would say that 99 percent of my colleagues that I”™ve spoken to have not gotten that email with that code,” he said at the start of the second day of business on the exchange. “I know only one person that got invited.”
“Throughout the day there were crashes and error messages,” he said of the online portal. “I don”™t think it was a very productive first day.”
“The question is, just how bad is it? I don”™t think there is going to be an easy fix. Is this just kind of the start of a snowball effect?”
At 3 p.m. on the second day of business at New York State of Health, Schutzer still was waiting for that email to brokers.