States See No Rush to Buy Health Insurance Next Week ...

Next Tuesday marks the first time uninsured people can buy health insurance using new online marketplaces under the health-care law, but state officials don?t expect many buyers next week.

?We really anticipate very few people going through the enrollment process in October,? said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, the state?s health insurance marketplace.

During a press conference with reporters, Mr. Lee joked that he expected two people to complete the signup process next Tuesday.

?Oct. 1 is just a start and it?s not a magical date,? said Heather Howard, a project director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which organized the press conference. ?Our lesson from Massachusetts (which opened a health insurance marketplace in 2006) is that people are very cautious. It?s not like buying a pair of shoes on Zappos.?

Uninsured Americans are far more likely to visit state or federal websites to check out insurance plan options and see what sort of federal subsidies they might qualify for rather than actually complete the buying process, said state officials who are running health marketplaces.

?I expect we?ll have far more people enrolling in November and December and hopefully even more than that in January and February,? said Christine Ferguson, director of the Rhode Island Health Benefits Exchange.?I?ve told people they don?t have to sign up on the first day.?

Open enrollment for health insurance through the online marketplaces begins Oct. 1 and ends March 31. State and federal officials expect more of a rush to purchase insurance in early December since the deadline to purchase insurance in order to be covered on Jan. 1 is Dec. 15. The federal marketplace website is www.HealthCare.gov.

Fourteen states are running their own marketplaces while the rest are relying on the federal government to run either some or all of their health insurance exchanges. Some states, including California, have already released details about rates and plans that will be offered by insurers this fall. The federal government hasn?t released any details yet about rates in the 36 states it?s responsive for, although that information is expected to be released soon.

Officials from California, Rhode Island and Maryland say their online marketplaces will be ready next week for consumers to look at rates or buy insurance. But they acknowledge they?re working overtime this week to make sure everything is ready ? and they don?t expect things to go completely smoothly.

?Everyone is working 24/7,? said Ferguson. ?It?s all good. But good means that there will be glitches. But we?ll fix them.?

In Oregon, state officials have already said their online marketplace won?t be ready for consumers to purchase insurance on Oct. 1. Consumers can buy insurance on the site via insurance brokers until the site is ready.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/09/24/states-see-no-rush-to-buy-health-insurance-next-week/

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