Missing From New and Improved Healthcare.gov: Online Customer Service

    New and returning customers to Healthcare.gov this year will have one less option if they run into difficulties. In the run-up to the initial launch in 2013, the Obamacare website promoted a "live chat" feature in addition to the toll-free phone number to be available 24/7 to answer questions:

    This year, however, the "contact us" page on the site includes only a phone number, and the "blue box" mentioned in the excerpt above is nowhere to be seen.
    The online chat feature actually disappeared without fanfare back in the spring of 2014 before the first open enrollment period even ended. In February, the change was alluded to in a blog post by Julie Bataille, director of communications for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), noting that "we will transition 1500 service representatives from web chat to direct telephone assistance." There was no mention that the chat feature was being discontinued altogether, and CMS did not respond to a request for comment.
    In spite of the fact that the online help feature was dropped more than eight months ago and the site has undergone extensive revamping and reprogramming in the meantime, one artifact of the chat service remains on the site even today (archived here):

    While the notice is technically correct that the "Live Chat feature is unavailable right now", a more accurate message would inform customers that Healthcare.gov Live Chat is in fact dead.

Note: A version of this post first appeared at The Weekly Standard.

It's Official: Obamacare Website Will Not Accept Online Payments

    With all the other problems experienced by consumers at Healthcare.gov, actually making payments for plans selected has gotten relatively little attention until recently.  As the end of the year draws closer, however, the importance of making a payment to secure coverage by January 1 has increased.  As recently as November 18, a Healthcare.gov chat representative told THE WEEKLY STANDARD that the site "may give you [the online payment] option when you complete your enrollment", but that "We are still experiencing some technical difficulties with the website, which is why it would be best to possibly go through the insurance company to make your first premium payment."
    Instructions at Healthcare.gov on making premium payments are ambiguous at best.  The following appears under the question, How Do I Apply for Marketplace Coverage? [emphasis added]:

Enroll. After you choose a plan, you can enroll online and decide how you pay your premiums to your insurance company. You must pay your premium by the date the insurer provides before your coverage can begin. Coverage can begin as soon as January 1, 2014. 

Despite saying "decide how you pay your premiums," no options are actually listed.
    However, a blog post at HHS.gov on Wednesday removed any doubt.  Payments may not be made through the Healthcare.gov Marketplace.  Now HHS says "you must pay your premium to the insurance company directly – not to the Health Insurance Marketplace."

    This recent blog post suggests that the "technical difficulties" with online payments could not be overcome, and so the option will not be available.  The government has repeatedly refused to respond to questions about the status of work related to an emergency, no-bid contract for "financial management services" awarded in August that would presumably handle online payments, part of the "back end" that HHS has indicated is far from complete.
    The federal insurance marketplace is not the only one experiencing problems with accepting payments.  The State of Maryland announced back on November 8 that since "[a]ccepting payment is not required of a state-based marketplace, and the Board approved deferring this option until after the core items are addressed."


Note: A version of this article first appeared at The Weekly Standard.