Page 31 - MIN SOC 20JAN,2016

U.S. NEWS A7
Wednesday 20 January 2016

US Financial Front:

Health insurance customers begin new year with delays

types of insurance. But bro- narrower network of pro- problem in some markets.
kers say this year has been viders after the insurer mis- Consumers who wanted
exceptional. takenly enrolled her in a coverage that started Jan.
Boyd, the Dallas bro- plan she didn’t choose. But 1 originally had to sign up
ker, said her market was Eyler, an attorney from the by Dec. 15. But HealthCare.
swamped after Blue Cross Dallas suburb of Coppell, gov, the federal website
and Blue Shield of Texas says she wasn’t officially that handles applications
stopped offering a popular in the system until a few for coverage from ACA
plan that covered about days ago and still has no exchanges in most states,
400,000 people with a wide documents proving she’s announced Dec. 15 that
network of providers. Boyd insured. it would extend the dead-
helped client Bridget Eyler Changing federal dead- line two days due to heavy
find another plan with a lines also contributed to the demand.q

Chris Rogers, right, talks to Epilepsy Foundation Navigator Bar-
bara Meneses as Rogers prepares to enroll for health care cov-
erage, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, in Coral Gables, Fla. Thousands
of health insurance consumers around the country have started
the new year dealing with missing ID cards, billing errors and
other problems tied to an enrollment surge at the end of 2015.

(AP Photo/Alan Diaz)

KELLI KENNEDY “I’ve been in the health
TOM MURPHY insurance business 20 plus
Associated Press years, and I’ve never seen
Thousands of health insur- anything like this,” said
ance consumers around Dallas-based broker Tanya
the country have started Boyd, who estimates that
the new year dealing with hundreds of customers
missing ID cards, billing er- have complained about
rors and other problems delays in receiving their in-
tied to an enrollment surge surance cards or a confir-
at the end of 2015. mation of coverage.
Brokers and insurers in sev- The delays are due in part
eral states told The Asso- to more customers than
ciated Press that they’ve expected shopping for
been inundated with coverage late last year
complaints about these is- after carriers ended plans
sues from customers with in some markets, leav-
individual plans and those ing thousands to find new
with coverage through ones. And a last-minute
small businesses. Insurance enrollment deadline exten-
provider Health Care Ser- sion from the federal gov-
vice Corp., for instance, ernment gave people two
has been dealing with de- more days to sign up. An
lays for about 10,000 com- expansion of the Afford-
panies, while billing errors able Care Act’s mandate
caused bank overdrafts for that employers cover their
3,200 individual customers workers also may have
of a North Carolina insurer. contributed to the rush.
These delays mean that It’s unclear how many peo-
some customers may have ple have had trouble so far
to pay for care up front this year. To be sure, a cer-
or wait for their insurance tain amount of problems
cards to arrive before can crop up at the start
scheduling a doctor’s ap- of every year, after insur-
pointment, even though ers wrap up a busy holiday
many have technically season clogged with en-
been covered since Jan. 1. rollment periods for several