Even more technical problems for Obamacare: Not enough data to process applications

Right now, most people attempting to enroll in Obamacare can’t even make it past the login page. However, new reports have indicated that even if you do somehow manage to apply for health care, there’s no guarantee that your application will actually be processed.


From Bloomberg news:

[Insurance companies] are receiving electronic files that can’t open or have so much missing information on new enrollees they’re unusable, [industry] consultants said. 

Some insurers have been forced to fix entries by hand, said Bob Laszewski, an insurance-industry consultant based in Arlington, Virginia. 

“If we don’t see substantial improvement by the end of this week, then I would throw up the yellow flag,” said Dan Schuyler, a consultant advising states and insurers on the exchanges. “If we don’t see it in the next two to three weeks, it’s time for red flags. The concern is some people could get to Jan. 1, and not have coverage.”

Additionally, a report from CNBC states that just 1 in every 100 applications on the federal exchange contains enough information to enroll an applicant in a plan. The problem is, of course, rooted in the software and how it collects and verifies an applicant’s data.

Again, this means that some people could believe they have health insurance when they actually don’t:

Experts said that if Healthcare.gov’s success rate doesn’t improve within the next month or so, federal officials could face a situation in January in which relatively large numbers of people believe they have coverage starting that month, but whose enrollment applications are have not been processed. 

“It could be public relations nightmare,” said [Sumit Nijhawan, CEO of Infogix]. Insurers have told his company that just “1 in 100″ enrollment applicants being sent from the federal marketplace have provided sufficient, verified information. 

What does all this mean? That even after the current technical glitches are fixed, there will probably be even more, greater problems in the future. Maybe then the Dems will finally realize that this system just doesn’t work.