Health Care Reform

Operational Update for HealthCare.gov, December 24, 2013


Amazing Interest in Signing Up For January 1

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—December 24, 2013.

By Julie Bataille, Director of CMS’ Office of Communications

It was a record day yesterday for healthcare.gov and the Marketplace. Healthcare.gov alone received a remarkable 2 million site visits and our call center received more than 250,000 calls as consumers were rushing to complete their applications. We see this intense traffic as a sign that people are eager for affordable health insurance. More than 129,000 individuals provided emails yesterday at HC.gov as part of the advanced queuing system. All of them received emails inviting them back the same day to complete their applications.

CMS is spending today completing enrollments for individuals seeking affordable coverage beginning January 1. Volumes remain high, but not equal to yesterday and we have not had to deploy our queuing system on the site. We are taking thousands of calls at our call centers, which remain open until midnight, and we are seeing thousands of visitors complete enrollment online.

What if you missed the deadline?

Our highest priority is making sure that everyone who wants to enroll to have health care coverage by January 1 is able to do so, particularly since consumers had a hard time accessing HealthCare.gov in October and November. As such, we are making sure we can provide information directly to consumers if and when they have questions about their particular situation, and if they are covered as of January 1.

Consumers who tried to enroll prior to today and had problems with the system should contact the Marketplace call center for individual assistance (The call center will be closed on Christmas and will reopen on the 26th). We have developed a robust casework process to address individual inquiries, respond to specific situations, and help consumers transition to new coverage. Consumers will hear directly from their health plan about the date their coverage is effective.

In addition, CMS and health plans are continuing to reach out to consumers who’ve selected a plan to remind them of the final steps they must take to enroll in coverage, such as paying their bill, who to contact if they have questions, and how they can access care.

Consumers who begin the process of selecting a health plan after today will be covered as of February 1.

Source: hhs.gov

 


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