Backlogs snag rollout of regional health insurance website [La Crosse Tribune, Wis.]

Sept. 28--The website to help uninsured western Wisconsin residents sign up for health insurance when the federal marketplace opens Tuesday is snagged in state and federal backlogs.

The Western Region Enrollment Network website will not go live Monday because of delays in gaining approval of state and federal certification for counselors, said Lorie Graff, manager of the Western Region for Economic Assistance Consortium.

"It's a matter of making sure our list of certified application counselors is up to date so we don't send people to the wrong places," said Graff, who also is economic support manager of the La Crosse County Health and Human Services Department.

The problem is not a fatal flaw, because people still will be able to enroll on their own at healthcare.gov and through the county health department, Gundersen Health System and Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare.

If anything, it suggests that it might be a wiser course not to try to enroll during the early rush at healthcare.gov, the official federal site, and its phone number of 800-318-2596. Open enrollment lasts until March 31, and people have until Dec. 15 to have coverage Jan. 1. Enrolling after Dec. 15 would push coverage back to

Feb. 1, with similar delays in ensuing months.

But the certification backlogs at the state and federal levels just add to glitches that have occurred during the past few months.

In July, the Obama administration announced that it would push back the mandate for all large businesses to provide insurance from Jan. 1, 2013, to Jan. 1, 2014, because of business complaints about the complexity of the process.

Thursday, the administration revealed that the small business marketplace will miss its Oct. 1 online roll-out because of technological snarls. Small business owners are not required to provide insurance, but can if they choose.

Those who want to will be able to go online to view plans in the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Tuesday, but they won't be able finish the application process until sometime in November. They also can use paper applications.

The sign-up process is a daunting task nationally and locally, with an estimated 50 million people across the country and 31,000 Coulee Region residents needing to obtain coverage.

Regional officials have expressed concern that many of the applicants will be unfamiliar with insurance and need the help of application counselors.

"We're scrambling to get our staff trained," Graff said, but the certification lag is foiling the process.

"We have lots of volunteers, but it's the process of training to get on board," she said.

The regional website, which Graff said may be able to go live later in the week, is planned to include lists of the counselors and their locations.

Graff recalled problems with signing up for BadgerCare Core coverage in 2009.

"The system went down," she said. "They had underestimated the number of people who would enroll in BadgerCare."

Many are concerned about whether the healthcare.gov website will be able to handle the load.

"We're hopeful and crossing our fingers that the system won't crash," said Greg Skemp, sales and marketing director for the Gundersen Health Plan.

The Gundersen plan and Mayo's Health Tradition Health Plan have state approval to sell in the marketplace in several Wisconsin counties, including La Crosse.

Skemp said he ran into technological problems with the federal system in his own quest for certification, as his computer locked up three times when he tried to take the exam.

"I hope this doesn't indicate what will happen," he said.

Joan Mueller, executive director of external affairs at Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare, said, "I would hope that people not flood the system and be looking for in-person assistance on Oct. 1 because people are still scampering about to line things up."

Health Tradition administrator Steve Kunes said he doesn't expect a crush on Tuesday.

"I don't think a lot of people will be picking up the phone and walking in the door," he said. "Like most people, they will procrastinate."

Michael Richards, executive director of external affairs for Gundersen Health System, said he expects a lot of individuals and those in the insurance industry to at least check out healthcare.gov Tuesday.

That is the first day that insurance rates will be revealed, after weeks of conjecture and estimates that often have been skewed politically against or for Obamacare.

"Early on, the big day is Oct. 1, but it's going to be a marathon all the way to the end," Richards said.

And despite delays, "Our mindset is to keep on going as if it is going to start on time and they've done their due diligence," he said.

"I want to caution people to know that there probably will be a long backlog at the federal phone number on Tuesday -- just be patient," Richards said. "Oct. 1 could be a busy day, but that's OK."

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