California ObamaCare Website Ditches Doctor Directory
The insurance exchange’s online search tool for doctors and hospitals has been offline since Oct. 9 while fixes are being made. That’s making it hard for consumers to pick insurance plans.
Checking up on a doctor is becoming a major snag for Obamacare shoppers in California.
Three weeks into open enrollment, the state’s insurance exchange, Covered California, has pulled its online directory of medical providers after acknowledging there are serious problems with the information. The California Medical Assn. says it found mistakes such as obstetricians labeled as ophthalmologists and the wrong doctors described as fluent in Russian and Farsi.
Anthem Blue Cross, the state’s largest for-profit health insurer, has shut down a similar physician search tool on its website until it can be updated for new plans for sale now under the federal healthcare law. And consumers say calling other insurers and doctor’s offices around the state often yields confusing or conflicting answers, leaving them largely in the dark.
“Nobody can give me a straight answer,” said Larry Greenfield, a 47-year-old musician in Fountain Valley. He said he has checked online and called insurers to no avail as he tries to choose between different exchange policies. “I don’t want to be forced to buy something if I don’t know what I’m getting.”
Overall, Covered California’s website and enrollment system appear to have recovered from some early computer glitches to post a solid start for sign-ups. The insurance exchange announced this week that nearly 95,000 applications for health coverage have been started since Oct. 1. Officials won’t disclose how many applications have actually been completed.
It is completely absurd that both state and federal officials will not disclose how many people have actually enrolled in Obamacare and a sure sign of it’s failure to operate as promised… but, then again, this administration has utterly failed to deliver on most every promise so don’t hold your breath!
