RNC Research

ObamaCare’s Federal Exchange Website Has Failed To Transmit 15,000 Enrollment Records To Insurers. “Enrollment records for close to 15,000 HealthCare.gov shoppers were not initially transmitted to the insurance plans they selected, according to a preliminary federal estimate to be released Saturday.” (Sarah Kliff, “Thousands Of HealthCare.gov Sign-ups Didn’t Make It To Insurers,” The Washington Post’s WonkBlog, 12/14/13)

• In October, 15 Percent Of Enrollments “Were Missing An 834 Transmission.” “During the first two weeks of October, the new federal analysis estimates, nearly 10 percent of enrollments were missing an 834 transmission. That number rose to 15 percent in mid-October before steadily declining through November.” (Sarah Kliff, “Thousands Of HealthCare.gov Sign-ups Didn’t Make It To Insurers,” The Washington Post’s WonkBlog, 12/14/13)

• The Administration’s Recent Estimates Compared Records Of “Shoppers Who Clicked ‘Enroll’ With The Number Of Digital Files” Actually Transmitted To Insurers. “The preliminary estimate that fewer than 15,000 enrollments failed to reach carriers comes from a recently completed federal analysis that compared the number of shoppers who clicked ‘enroll’ with the number of digital files HealthCare.gov fired off to health-insurance plans.” (Sarah Kliff, “Thousands Of HealthCare.gov Sign-ups Didn’t Make It To Insurers,” The Washington Post’s WonkBlog, 12/14/13)

The Numbers Released Further Highlight Back-End Website Problems And Challenges The Site’s Ability To Transfer Correct Enrollment Data To Insurers. “Still, the figure is one of the more concrete measures of the data errors that have plagued the back-end of HealthCare.gov and challenged the Web site’s ability to notify health-insurance providers when a new member enrolls in their products.” (Sarah Kliff, “Thousands Of HealthCare.gov Sign-ups Didn’t Make It To Insurers,” The Washington Post’s WonkBlog, 12/14/13)

“Insurers Said They Had Found Many Discrepancies And Errors And That The Government Was Overstating The Improvements In HealthCare.Gov.” (Robert Pear, “Enrollment Erros Cut, Officials Say; Fixes Are Overstated, Insurers Report,” The New York Times, 12/14/13)

The 834 Files Have Been Hampered With Other Issues, Such As Enrollment Duplicates And Files With Missing Or Inaccurate Data. “The missing enrollment files are one of three problems with the 834 transmissions that the federal government has identified. The other two are enrollment transmissions being sent in duplicate and those that are sent with inaccurate, or missing, data.” (Sarah Kliff, “Thousands Of HealthCare.gov Sign-ups Didn’t Make It To Insurers,” The Washington Post’s WonkBlog, 12/14/13)

• Insurers Are Receiving Forms In Which Parents Are Listed As Dependents And In Some Cases, An Incorrect Home Address Of Enrollees. “In some cases, they said, the federal government reported that the home address for a new policyholder was outside an insurer’s service area. In other cases, a child was listed as the main subscriber — the person responsible for paying premiums — and parents were listed as dependents.” (Robert Pear, “Enrollment Erros Cut, Officials Say; Fixes Are Overstated, Insurers Report,” The New York Times, 12/14/13)

• The Problems Could Increase “The Amount Of Premiums That A Family Is Required To Pay.” “In some cases, children were enrolled in a policy by the federal government and parents were left off, or vice versa. In other cases, the government botched up the members of a family: A child or spouse was listed two or three times in the same application in late November. Such errors can have financial implications, increasing the amount of premiums that a family is required to pay.” (Robert Pear, “Enrollment Erros Cut, Officials Say; Fixes Are Overstated, Insurers Report,” The New York Times, 12/14/13)

Insurers Have Complained About The Errors For Months, But “The Problems Remain Unresolved.” “While some of the problems were discovered in the last few days, insurers said that they had previously reported many of the errors to the ‘help desk’ at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and that the problems remained unresolved.” (Robert Pear, “Enrollment Erros Cut, Officials Say; Fixes Are Overstated, Insurers Report,” The New York Times, 12/14/13)

As The Federal Exchange Has Struggled To Transmit Files, The ObamaCare Exchange Website Was Down For “Extended Maintenance” Over The Weekend. “At the same time, in a sign that problems remain despite intensive efforts to repair the malfunctioning Affordable Care Act website, the Department of Health and Human Services said the Healthcare.gov site would be down for ‘extended maintenance’ for 12 hours. It will not be accessible between midnight and noon on Sunday, the agency said in a statement.” (Mark Felsenthal, “About 15,000 ObamaCare Sign-ups Didn’t Transmit, Improvement Seen: Administration,” Reuters, 12/15/13)