The federal Web site for US consumers to enroll in private health insurance under “Obamacare” ran into problems twice on Monday because of a surge of people trying to access the site hours before a midnight deadline to sign up for coverage.
Technical issues that barred access to HealthCare.gov for several hours throughout the day underscored the frantic last-minute pace of an enrollment process that could determine the ultimate success or failure of the healthcare law that represents US President Barack Obama’s domestic policy achievement.
More than 6 million people had signed up for private health coverage through the new Obamacare insurance markets by last week, surpassing a target set after a disastrous rollout in October called the enrollment process into question. With daily volumes continuing to surge, analysts believe the final tally could approach or even exceed an original goal of 7 million.
Photo: Reuters
“We admittedly had just a terrible start because the Web site wasn’t working, and despite losing effectively two months, we are going to be reasonably close to that original projection,” Obama said in a CBS Evening News interview that was taped last week and broadcast on Monday.
A successful enrollment would give an important political boost to the administration and its Democratic allies, who are locked in an election year battle with Republicans over the future of Obamacare.
“No one expected us to come back from the brink,” White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters before the broadcast. “But we have. And I think that merits noting in your reports.”
Analysts say the total enrollment is less important than the number of healthy policyholders in the marketplaces, which have probably attracted large numbers of older people and consumers with pre-existing medical conditions, who are costlier to insure.
Obama told CBS that young people, who are generally healthy, were signing up in larger numbers late in the enrollment period, as expected.
In Houston on Monday, prospective enrollees again lined the sidewalks outside special city offices in hopes of obtaining private insurance coverage that comes with federal subsidies for low-income people.
“It’s madness, but it’s good madness,” said Tiffany Hogue, statewide healthcare campaign coordinator for the nonprofit Texas Organizing Project, which is helping with the 11th-hour enrollment drive in the state.
People also crowded health centers across Florida as navigators and others trained to assist with online enrollment struggled with HealthCare.gov’s access problems.
Compounding the Web site’s challenges were long waits at a federal call center set up as an alternative route to coverage, according to health center officials.
“It’s been very, very, very busy, but the Web site issues haven’t been bad, and people realize they’ve waited until the last minute,” said Andrew Behrman, chief executive officer of the Florida Association of Community Health Centers, which represents facilities in nearly 350 locations.
“What can I tell you? It’s like a last-minute sale,” he added.
Texas and Florida, whose political leaders reject Obamacare, have the biggest uninsured populations among the 36 states served by HealthCare.gov.
The remaining 14 states, including California and New York, have set up their own insurance marketplaces.
HealthCare.gov’s performance on the final day of a six-month enrollment period was delayed until 8am after a government tech team noticed a software bug and extended an overnight maintenance schedule to deal with the problem.
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