Fed health care website up and running after slow start
WASHINGTON • The federal website where consumers can get health insurance under the Affordable Care Act was up and running Thursday after a slow start as sign-up season for 2019 opened days before the midterm elections. During early morning hours, people accessing the site were directed to a screen that said work was underway. A recording at the HealthCare.gov call center conveyed a similar message. Things seemed to be running normally by about 9 a.m. EDT.
With health care a major issue in Tuesday’s elections, this sign-up season under the Trump administration is getting close scrutiny.
In earlier years, technical problems with the site created major headaches for the Obama administration. Some Democrats cited HealthCare.gov’s meltdown after its 2013 debut as one of the reasons they lost control of the Senate the following year. Since those initial problems were fixed, the website serving people in 39 states has worked fairly smoothly, first under President Barack Obama and now under Donald Trump. The rest of the states and the District of Columbia run their own sign-ups.
A spokesperson for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said Thursday morning that HealthCare.gov was open for business. Before the site went live for sign-ups at the start of a new coverage year, technicians had to load up details on thousands of changes in plans and premiums.
The health law’s sixth sign-up season began with stabilizing premiums and more choices for consumers.
The federal website where consumers can sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is shown on a computer screen on Thursday.
