hoops2's suspicion is confirmed. Actually the initial reports, . . . quoted accurately by hoops2, above . . . are not exactly the full story.
"The federal government said about one in four electronic transactions sent from HealthCare.gov to insurance companies in October and November could contain errors, raising concerns that some consumers who think they picked a health plan won't be enrolled by Jan. 1.
On Friday, CMS spokeswoman Julie Bataille said recent fixes to HealthCare.gov have driven the error rate down to about one in 10 for electronic files generated since Dec. 1. For October and November, she said the error rate was about one in four.
Ms. Bataille said errors fall into three categories: duplicate files, lack of a file, or a file with mistaken data such as a child being listed as a spouse.
The 834 form [the electronic file in question] is supposed to contain the person's name, address, contact information and Social Security number. Insurance companies use the information to bill consumers for their portion of the payment and to formally enroll people in insurance plans. If the 834 isn't sent or has errors, it means insurers can't complete the enrollment."
So, . . . maybe 25% of applications filed in October and November have errors which
could include "lack of a file". Hmm, . . . "lack of a file"? Not surprisingly "lack of a file" would prevent the insurer from "completing the enrollment."
i.e. The applicant is, in fact, not insured. But the applicant may well think he
is insured.
DonDiego supposes this could cause a problem sometime shortly after New Years Eve. Especially for someone who had his non-Obamacare-compliant insurance cancelled, and who thinks he is insured on 1 January 2014.
But, . . .never fear, . . . the program continues:
". . . it is likely that thousands of new 834 forms are being generated each day, meaning a one-in-10 error rate could still cause significant trouble for insurers."
Ref: The Wall Street Journal
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