New and returning Obamacare customers started to sign up on the law’s marketplace Saturday, logging onto HealthCare.gov and other insurance portals from their own computers or flocking to enrollment centers for face-to-face help.
And unlike last year, early returns suggest it wasn’t a disaster — although one state health exchange had to take itself offline to fix a calculation problem.
HealthCare.gov opened shortly after 1 a.m., and 23,000 people submitted an application for coverage in the first eight hours, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said in a Twitter message.
The Obama administration is banking on the federal website to hold up in the early hours of enrollment so it can avoid the embarrassment it suffered when the system launched for the first time last year.
Consumers logging onto HealthCare.gov, which serves 37 states, will be able to sift through plans before creating an account. It is a feature that was not around when Obamacare made its debut in October of last year, causing a bottleneck on the front end of the system when throng of users tried to start the sign-up process.
Officials also reduced the number of screens applicants have to navigate through from 76 to 16.
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Thirteen states running their own insurance web portals also trumpeted their efforts Saturday.
Maryland’s state-run exchange, which had to overhaul its technology after a woeful first year, posted photos of smiling navigators and satisfied customers on social media, while D.C. Health Link officials said customers queued up at a downtown library before its enrollment fair kicked off at 11 a.m.
“I was surprised by the line,” said Mila Kofman, executive director of the D.C. Health Benefit Exchange Authority, standing near a set of blue-and-red tables occupied by in-person assisters, applicants and laptops.
D.C. officials said most of the attendees were seeking coverage for the first time, although it had a designated table for people who wanted to renew their exchange plans but needed guidance.
One new customer, D.C. resident Leslie Allen, said she was compelled by circumstance — and her mother — to come out and sign up.
The 33-year-old recently returned from a teaching job in Panama and had to scan in a number of documents to reestablish her residency, making the process longer than usual.
She said she is employed part-time and does not have health benefits, so she turned to the marketplace because it offered a subsidy to knock down her costs.
“That was the number-one reason,” she said.
Federal and state officials have warned that although they expect a better consumer experience this year, not everything will be perfect.
Washington State had to take its exchange offline Saturday, after its quality-control personnel noticed that tax credit amounts were being calculated incorrectly for customers.
“Understanding the challenge this could create for consumers, we are erring on the side of caution and taking the system offline to fully address the issue,” said Richard Onizuka, CEO of Washington Health Benefit Exchange.
Consumers have until Feb. 15 to enroll, although those who want coverage in time for the new year must sign up by Dec. 15.
The Obama administration faces new challenges this year. It wants to retain as many of its 7.1 million existing customers as it can, while scouring for uninsured Americans they did not catch during the first round.
HHS recently estimated that 9 million will sign up, a target that is far below the Congressional Budget Office’s projection of 13 million.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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