Plans still waiting for enrollment data

According to a federal spokesperson this afternoon, the federal data services hub that drives the healthcare.gov application and enrollment process is working normally, however, the user interface continues to be plagued by slow response, unrelated error messages and sporadic progress delays. For the interface with insurers, some fixes have been created but the consumer-facing aspects appear to be the priority for the IT teams.

“We have already started to put some of those fixes in place related to the 834 issues,” said Julie Bataille, director of the Office of Communications for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “We have a number of other issues to address as well but we are making progress. That has been and remains at the top of our punchlist. We are actively working with insurers to understand if the things we have already put in place are making a meaningful difference in their reporting and that work will be ongoing. But a few of the fixes we have already put in place related to the 834 made sure that those notices properly reflected the accurate date and time stamp and consumer contact information in particular.”

During a call with investors, Humana leaders said the plan is reducing its estimate for enrollment through exchanges in 2014 and ultimately expects an extended enrollment period.