On Oct. 21, as the online federal exchange system at the heart of President Obama’s health law entered its third week of widespread failures, the president gave a televised speech in which he admitted that there were “kinks in the system,” but also insisted that the exchange problems could be worked around, because the online insurance portals weren’t the only way to enroll in coverage.
“While the website will ultimately be the easiest way to buy insurance through the marketplace, it isn't the only way,” he said. “I want to emphasize this … you can still buy the same quality affordable insurance plans available on the marketplace the old-fashioned way, offline—either over the phone or in person.” The application process, Obama said, would only take about 25 minutes for an individual.
As workarounds go, it was appealing enough. It was also basically useless. The 25-minute application process he touted didn’t actually provide way to avoid the problems of the exchanges. That’s because the paper applications would eventually have to be submitted into the online enrollment system. And if the system didn’t work, then neither would the supposed workarounds.
This was not exactly a secret to the administration officials managing the Obamacare roll out. They were well aware that paper applications filled out with the help of navigators or call center workers were still dependent on the functionality of the online system. Yet the president went on television to promote the phone and paper processes anyway, reading out the toll-free call-in number like a late-night TV pitchman. Kathleen Sebelius used a similar line in Phoenix a few days later.
No comments:
Post a Comment