Delays reported in upgrading the federal health insurance exchange network

covered care open enrollment

Upgrades are being delayed, but are expected to be ready before the beginning of the open enrollment period

Open enrollment for U.S. health insurance exchanges will begin November 1 this year and the federal government is working on improving its insurance gateway, HealthCare.gov. Earlier this month, the government announced that it would be making long-awaited upgrades to the website before the open enrollment period began, but these updates may be delayed somewhat. While federal officials believe that the updates will be online before the enrollment period begins, ongoing issues may delay the upgrades further.

Federal website has struggled to overcome serious problems from its past

HealthCare.gov has been harshly criticized in the past because of its technical faults. When the federal gateway was first launched, it was meant to be a place where consumers could find health insurance coverage in their states. The website’s faults made it impossible for many people to enroll for coverage, however, which means that they went without insurance coverage for a period of time. The federal government has introduced many upgrades to the website over the past few years, but the latest upgrades are meant to resolve the website’s problems once and for all.

Two upgrades have proven difficult to implement into the federal health insurance exchange

online health insuranceOne of the upgrades that the federal government is having trouble implementing is a new online tool designed to find doctors and other health care professionals. Another online tool is designed to allow consumers to see if particular health insurance policies provide coverage for their prescription medication. These tools have proven difficult to introduce, but federal officials expect that the upgrades will be ready before the open enrollment period begins.

Federal officials have high hopes for the upcoming open enrollment period

The Obama administration expects that several million people will enroll for health insurance coverage through exchanges this year. The majority of these consumers are expected to use federal subsidies in order to afford their insurance coverage. The problem, however, is that insurers continue to raise premiums, making it difficult for consumers to afford their coverage.

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