Whether for the curiosity factor or because they don't have employee benefits, a substantial number of people have visited California's state-based exchange since it opened for enrollment on Oct. 1.
According to newly released statistics provided by Covered California, through the first five weeks that the marketplace has been open, the site received more than 2.5 million unique visits. Additionally, service center workers handled more than 260,000 calls through the same five-week stretch.
While Covered California didn't have any official numbers on how many individuals were able to complete the enrollment process, just over 227,000 applications were started.
Proponents of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act have pointed to state-based exchanges like Covered California as one of the highlights of the health care reform law, but agents who are particularly familiar with the marketplace say that it hasn't been glitch-proof. Insurance news website LifeHealthPro reported that some of the problems with the exchange include many of those experienced at HealthCare.gov, such as software bugs, delays, long wait times and agents not being given clearance to sell coverage through the marketplace despite their credentials.
Neil Cosby, director of sales for a California based insurance services firm, told LifeHealthPro that once agents have already completed the certification process – which requires training and the taking of an online test – it can take several weeks before they receive the go-ahead to use the website for insurance selling purposes.
Alison Gordon, a self-employed insurance broker also from California, told the news source that few have been able to complete the enrollment process, which may explain why they have only released data on the number of people who have started an application.
