The Boston Business Journal reports the state has given up on the company that said it could build us a world-class health-insurance site to replace the one that was working perfectly fine before Obamacare, only it couldn't.
Ed. note: We remain in Health Connector limbo: We recently got three separate letters (one for each member of the family) from one of the state agencies involved in health insurance stating that we have free "temporary" insurance, but meanwhile, we're still paying premiums to the other state agency involved, which says it's still covering us - and which keeps sending us bills for $0 each month (to which I reply by paying our old monthly premiums). The first agency proves impossible to reach on the phone (well, technically, they're very easy to reach on the phone, but every time I try to navigate their phone tree, I ultimately get a recording that my call cannot be completed), the second agency says it doesn't know why the first issued us temporary insurance and, based on how angry the customer rep started getting when I asked her what I should do about it, doesn't much care. In the meantime, our actual insurer is still covering our medical bills, so I guess we are actually covered.
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Comments
Massachusetts has been
By RichM
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 12:12pm
Massachusetts has been without a leader for 7 years, what did you expect?
It was great until....
By Anon
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 1:33pm
I think the Mass health care system has been excellent which is why the federal government used Mass as a role model. How ironic that once we had to changed to comply with the federal program that the Mass computers went haywire. The current computer company needs to be fired immediately.
They were fired today
By Nancy
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 5:04pm
According to a tweet from the Health Connector:
"We have made the decision to part ways with CGI. We hope to negotiate a thoughtful transition with them."
What about getting out money back?
By anon²
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 8:52pm
Doesn't seem they held up their end of the bargain. Taxpayers should get their money back, plus interest.
This is also another classic example of why the contract bid system is really, really messed up. Going wit the lowest bid, regardless of ability and track record is a recipe for a very, costly disaster.
Surely there has to be a better way, that also protect against fleecing taxpayers and rewarding cronies.
Still not working as of today
By anon
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 12:25pm
The Massachusetts website says I cant use it because I need to be using Explorer 7 or higher. I am using the latest version of Explorer 11.
Here, let me fix that for you
By Nancy
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 5:10pm
Just give in to the Google overlord and use Chrome.
An option for help:
By KSquared
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 12:28pm
The Mayor's Health Line have staff that have been helping people sign up for insurance for months now - they know the system better than anyone. They might be a good resource for anyone having trouble signing up/figuring out what is going on: 617-534-5050
There's really nothing they
By davery
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 7:01pm
There's really nothing they can do for a lot of people. If you're really poor there's MassHealth, if you're not you can buy insurance. All of the infrastructure relating to partially subsidized health insurance is currently broken. It's actually a perfect analogy for how 21st Democrats only care about well off people and totally destitute people. The working class is on their own.
Look at their board of directors.
By anon
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 1:12pm
Half of the picks are very questionable
Celia Wcislo
Assistant Division Director and Vice President At-Large, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East.
Didn't know SEIU was in the IT industry
Nancy Turnbull
Senior Lecturer on Health Policy and Associate Dean for Educational Programs, Harvard School of Public Health
We're not writing policy, were trying to build a functioning web site
Dolores Mitchell, ex-officio
Executive Director, Group Insurance Commission
No way this dinosaur knows how to turn on a computer
Louis Malzone
Executive Director, Massachusetts Coalition of Taft-Hartley Funds
Union Hack X 1000
Not ONE person on that board has any substantive IT experience
Wrong
By anon
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 5:07pm
Celia was an early IT person for SEIU.
Well not any time soon
By anon
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 1:15pm
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverag...
When I first use the website....
By dpalomares
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 1:20pm
I could not go beyond the sign up page, I went to their offices near the TD Garden, I explained the site was not working. The moment the person at the desk said I should be using Internet Explore, I knew the site was broken!
I have Commonwealth Care and
By davery
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 4:45pm
I have Commonwealth Care and have no idea if it is getting extended past March 31st. First it was, then it wasn't, now we're going to hear soon if we need to sign up for another plan. What other plan? I tried to sign up in October. Supposedly we were going to receive letters in the mail last week but no one got anything. And there are over 100,000 people in the same position I'm in. What a disaster.
Not five minutes after I posted this ...
By adamg
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 4:54pm
I got a robocall from a cheery woman informing me that good news - Commonwealth Care has been extended to June 30, and that we should keep paying our premiums (presumably the old ones, not the $0 ones we now get billed for).
Well that is good news indeed
By davery
Mon, 03/17/2014 - 7:02pm
Well that is good news indeed. I hope that's the case for me as well. Although I'd rather they stop extending my plan and just let me buy a new insurance plan.
100% Rate Increase, but no summary of Benefits
By anon
Tue, 03/18/2014 - 1:03am
As bad a boondoggle that the $70 million dollar MA website is, Health Connector could not stuff the right letter in the envelope proposing a health insurance plan to replace my evaporating one. No, the letter inside the envelope is to someone else complete with his birthdate and zip code. The "correct" replacement letter that was promised after a series of calls to the Connector never came, just an invoice for a plan with no explanation of benefits or deductibles.
When does the Health Connector contract expire? They are in over their heads with no apparent oversight and certainly not earning their commission.
The new plan? $24,000 a year for two people. I wonder what the co-pay is and why the Insurance Commissioner ever approved such price gorging.
Health Connector doesn't have a contract with the state
By Nancy
Tue, 03/18/2014 - 6:39am
The Health Connector IS the state. They are a state agency who used to manage Commonwealth Care and Commonwealth Choice. Now they are the agency in charge of the exchange for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in Massachusetts.
They still are in over their
By anon
Tue, 03/18/2014 - 10:38am
They still are in over their heads with no apparent oversight.
Time to repeal Obamacare
By guyboston
Tue, 03/18/2014 - 7:31am
Time to cut bait and stop throwing good money after bad.
Most people were happy with their healthcare prior to Obamacare. Now most people are unhappy with Obamacare.
Yeah, the millions of people
By Scratchie
Tue, 03/18/2014 - 8:28am
Yeah, the millions of people who couldn't get health insurance at all due to pre-existing conditions were perfectly happy with that situation.
Creepy Obama Ad
By guyboston
Tue, 03/18/2014 - 7:57am
https://twitter.com/BenHowe/status/445745173167742977
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