Obamacare Met With Confusion, Relief At Start Of New Year

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The new year brought relief for Americans who previously had no health insurance or were stuck in poor plans, but it also led to confusion after the troubled rollout of the federal health care reforms sent a crush of late applications to overloaded government agencies.

That created stacks of yet-to-be-processed paperwork and thousands — if not millions — of people unsure about whether they have insurance.

Mike Estes of Beaverton, Ore., finally received his insurance card on Dec. 27 after applying in early November. Still, the family was thrilled to have insurance through the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon's version of Medicaid, because their previous $380-a-month premium "literally crushed our family's finances," Estes said.

Obama administration officials estimate that 2.1 million consumers have enrolled so far through the federal and state-run health insurance exchanges that are a central feature of the federal law. But even before coverage began, health insurance companies complained they were receiving thousands of faulty applications from the government, and some people who thought they had enrolled for coverage have not received confirmation.

Tens of thousands of potential Medicaid recipients in the 36 states relying on the federal exchange also are in limbo after the federal website that was supposed to send their applications to the states failed to do so.

Reports of complications were scattered around the country.

In Burlington, Vt., the state's largest hospital had almost two dozen patients seek treatment with new health insurance policies, but more than half of those did not have insurance cards. Minnesota's health care exchange said 53,000 people had enrolled for coverage through its marketplace, but it was unable to confirm the insurance status of an additional 19,000 people who created accounts but did not appear to have purchased the plans.

In Connecticut, officials were pleading for patience as call centers fielded calls from people who are concerned because they had yet to receive a bill for premiums or an insurance identification card.

"This is an unprecedented time, because there are a record number of people who have applied for coverage with an effective date of Jan. 1," said Donna Tommelleo, a spokeswoman for the Connecticut Department of Insurance.

Shutdown, or not - California launching health law Tuesday

California will forge ahead with the launch of its health insurance marketplace Tuesday, regardless of whether Congress fails to reach a last-minute deal to avert a federal government shutdown.

A possible shutdown would not stop the state because it has already received federal funding to implement the law. Much of the health care law, including federal subsidies for lower-income customers, was established through mandatory spending and not tied to annual appropriations.

On Friday, President Barack Obama promised that the insurance exchanges would open for business even if there's a government shutdown.

"That's a done deal," he said.

Indeed, Covered California - the state's version of the federal health care law - is preparing to begin enrolling customers in its health insurance exchange on Tuesday. Parts of the government would close on the same day if lawmakers in Washington don't act on legislation to extend discretionary spending.

Congressional Republicans have been working to stop the health law in its tracks.

On Monday, Senate Democrats tabled two House-approved amendments to a spending bill that would delay for one year implementation of the health law as well as repeal a medical-device tax designed to help pay for its implementation. Obama and Senate Democrats are urging the House to pass the Senate-approved spending bill with no provisions on the health care law.

California, one of 14 states rolling out its own marketplace, will mark opening day with a series of events in Sacramento, Fresno, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. The federal government will oversee the launch in the remaining states.

Photo: Samuel Butler inquires at a Covered California booth last weekend at the George Sim Center in Sacramento. Lezlie Sterling/The Sacramento Bee

Read more here: http://blogs.sacbee.com/capitolalertlatest/2013/09/shutdown-or-not---california-launching-obamacare-tuesday.html#storylink=cpy