Consumers aren鈥檛 the only ones frustrated by problems with the online health insurance exchanges being run by the feds.
Private companies that sell health insurance on the Internet are also in a bind. Websites like that were planning to start selling new, subsidized Obamacare policies on Oct. 1 still can鈥檛 offer them to customers.
Call operators answer phones on the first day of Obamacare at an eHealthInsurance Services Inc. call center in Sacramento, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 1 2013. (Photo by Ken James/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
First off, the online brokers got a late start. They didn鈥檛 get permission to sell exchange plans until late July. And the companies say they got plan information data too late to test it sufficiently. The Obama administration declined to comment on the nature of the problems that have the online brokers stuck.
eHealthInsurance.com has been selling health coverage online since 1999. Then, the Affordable Care Act passed and the federal government said it was going to open online insurance shopping sites. , CEO of eHealth, the company behind the site, fought long and hard for the right for private firms like his to compete. The government finally relented.
But at this point, many consumers still can鈥檛 shop for these plans on commercial sites, and Lauer says he has no firm date for when they鈥檒l be able to.
鈥淚 hope in the next few weeks, and I鈥檝e been saying that for the past couple of weeks,鈥� Lauer says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e somewhat dependent on this federal exchange working in a stable fashion.鈥�
Telling potential customers they鈥檒l have to come back later is a problem for companies like Lauer鈥檚 and for the White House. But , with the consulting firm Avalere Health, says if the White House is going to reach the goal of getting 7 million Americans signed up for health coverage in the law鈥檚 first year, the it needs electronic brokers鈥� help.
鈥淚 think they鈥檙e very important, and I think particularly because they鈥檝e been in the business for a long time, they鈥檝e really refined an easy shopping experience,鈥� Pearson says. 鈥淢any of the people who are eligible for subsidies in the exchange are folks that already have shopped with eHealth.鈥�
EHealth, she says, has a slick display and strong search functionality that she thinks is going to be appealing to consumers. 鈥淪o I think they represent a very important partner to the government, assuming they can get full data from the federal government and get up and running fully sometime soon.鈥�
In the meantime, eHealth鈥檚 Lauer says his company is offering rain checks to shoppers who qualify for new subsidies to help them afford insurance, and hoping they鈥檒l come back.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in communication with the federal government every day,鈥� Lauer says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 just occurring slower than we would like. We鈥檙e being patient and we鈥檙e working with them constructively because we want to get this up and running and available to people who are lower income. I just think it鈥檚 critically important.鈥�
Uncertainty is bad for business, but these online brokers aren鈥檛 totally dead in the water. They can still sell health policies to people who don鈥檛 qualify for subsidies. Lauer says his company is selling plenty of those. And the health care law is substantially boosting traffic to his site.
But people with subsidies represent a huge new market and commercial online brokers can鈥檛 yet offer them the product the federal health care law requires.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e collectively late by a few weeks, sure it鈥檚 a glitch, but big picture it鈥檚 still a small bump in the road,鈥� says , CEO and co-founder of the start-up company . It was hoping to start selling subsidized Obamacare policies online on Oct. 1, too. Krishnan is disappointed his company still isn鈥檛 able to do that, but as long as the government fixes its website in the next few weeks, he thinks e-brokers will be OK.
鈥淸The] reality is that most folks have until Dec. 15 to make their final purchase decision,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e recommending that they use this early period to learn about their options, educate themselves, not rush to a decision.鈥�
Avalere鈥檚 Pearson agrees that online brokers can probably weather problems for the first few weeks, but says they鈥檙e understandably nervous about when the bugs might be worked out.
鈥淚 mean, that鈥檚 the million-dollar question at this point that everybody is asking,鈥� Pearson says. 鈥淲e have seen gradual improvements over time, but at this point it鈥檚 really hard to predict when we鈥檒l have a smooth shopping experience.鈥�
This piece is part of a collaboration that includes 聽and Kaiser Health News.