The health care exchange–Healthcare.gov (above)– went online this week in Florida.
By Ashley Lopez
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting
One of the key parts of the Affordable Care Act—an online marketplace where people can compare and shop for health insurance– went online this week. So, far Floridians and others around the country have been signing up in droves.
The federal government in Florida established the marketplace, or health care exchange. The Department of Health had to set up a marketplace for many more than 30 GOP-run states like Florida, which were uninterested in implementing the health care law themselves.
Now that the marketplace is online, the site has seen a lot of traffic. In fact, the inundation of visits on the website has even led to some glitches.
Right now federal lawmakers are in gridlock, which lead to a now ongoing shutdown, over the health care law. A group of conservative GOP House members claim the law has to be defunded because people don’t like the law. Well, those claims seem to be at odds with how the law’s roll-out is moving forward. The Associated Press reported on Wednesday:
Overloaded websites and jammed phone lines frustrated consumers for a second day as they tried to sign up for health insurance under the nation’s historic health care overhaul.
That was putting pressure on the federal government and the states that are running their own insurance exchanges to fix the problems amid strong demand for the private insurance plans.
“I think I’m through with Hawaii Health Connector,” said Richard Gamberg, 61, of Honolulu, after tweeting messages to officials and complaining to state lawmakers on Wednesday. “They’ve got ads in the newspaper, they’ve got ads on the TV – it just flabbergasts me.”
He was among the would-be customers in Hawaii who were still unable to buy insurance policies online Wednesday, forcing them to turn directly to insurance companies to examine their options. In Oregon, officials said a faulty online calculator would not be fixed until late October.
The delays that continued Wednesday offered one good sign for President Barack Obama and supporters of his signature domestic policy achievement, demonstrating what appeared to be exceptionally high interest in the new system. But the problems also could dampen enthusiasm for the law as Republicans use it as a rallying cry to keep most of the federal government closed.
In Florida, there have also been some problems, which some say is due to high demand. As Health News Florida points out, “There’s a reason for the heavy interest: about one in four Florida adults under 65 is uninsured.”
In West Palm Beach, more than 60 people turned out for a town hall meeting Tuesday to learn how to enroll for health insurance, according to the Palm Beach Post. Many of those at the meeting said that they had not had health insurance for years.
At another town hall meeting – this one in Jacksonville, Tuesday night – it became clear that many are still confused about the Affordable Care Act. State Reps. Mia Jones and Reggie Fullword, Mayor Alvin Brown, and insurance representatives spent two hours answering questions from the audience, according to the Florida Times-Union.
Finally, Florida Blue’s Jacksonville headquarters had a busy day Tuesday. As the only health insurer offering plans in all 67 Florida counties, the company expects to double the number of customers it serves over the next 12 to 15 months, the Jacksonville Business Journal reports.
In Florida, the roll-out of the health care exchanges were met with a lot of political push-back from state officials. Gov. Rick Scott, who has spent much of his political career speaking out against the Affordable Care Act and stopping its implementation in Florida, told county health departments to not let federal employees hired to help people enroll in the exchanges into their buildings.
However, many Democrat-run counties decided to allow federal officials in anyway and other counties are relying on community-based group to help residents sign up.
The enrollment period for the health care exchanges ends March 31.