Covered California Struggles to Keep Pace with Surge
California's health exchange is struggling to keep pace with a surge of applicants who are encountering long waits and website problems as they try to meet a Dec. 23 deadline, it was reported Friday.
In response to higher-than-expected demand, the Covered California exchange said it is adding staff and expanding its capacity to answer consumer calls. It received 17,000 calls in less than an hour Wednesday, more than it received in an entire day in recent weeks, the Los Angeles Times reported. The exchange is also trying to dig through a backlog of 25,000 paper applications filed in October and November.
Dec. 23 is the sign-up deadline to have insurance starting Jan. 1, and consumers must pay the initial monthly premium by Jan. 5. After that, enrollment in the exchange lasts through March 31. The state postponed the initial payment deadline to Jan. 5 to give cash-strapped consumers more time during the holidays.
"We have been running strong all week, and at times we have exceeded the capacity of our phone lines," exchange spokesman Dana Howard said in remarks reported by The Times. "The demand is more than we projected. But the bottom line is folks will be able to get themselves enrolled for Jan. 1."
http://santamonica.patch.com/groups/politics-and-elections/p/covered-california-struggles-to-keep-pace-with-surge