Acknowledging that a poorly functioning website was making it impossible to hit the state’s enrollment goals, Gov. Peter Shumlin this afternoon announced he was extending the deadline for small businesses and individuals to sign up for Vermont Health Connect from Jan. 1 to March 31. In the meantime, they will be allowed to continue using their existing plans.
Additionally, Shumlin has deputized the two insurers offering plans in the market, Blue Cross Blue Shield Vermont and MVP Health Care, to act as “agents” of Vermont Heath Connect: Instead of signing up directly on the bug-ridden state website, businesses can sign up through the insurance companies, which will then register the plans with the exchange.
“These two additional options should give Vermonters going into the holiday season some (assurance) knowing there is no way they will lose insurance on January 1,” Shumlin said during a press conference while standing in front of a phalanx of lawmakers, insurers and administration officials.
The announcement represents a dramatic reversal for the administration, which had been holding to the Jan. 1 deadline in the face of growing concerns about the website.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
“Shumlin has deputized the two insurers offering plans in the market,
Blue Cross Blue Shield Vermont and MVP Health Care, to act as “agents”
of Vermont Heath Connect: Instead of signing up directly on the
bug-ridden state website, businesses can sign up through the insurance
companies, which will then register the plans with the exchange.”
Seems like this would have been a better option then spending millions and millions of dollars on a website that is not functional. Those millions and millions of dollars could have provided insurance to a lot of people in the form of increased subsidies. But no, instead it went to a company that has failed to meet deadlines and failed to create a working website. Here’s the kick… there is nothing special about this website…
It doesn’t say much about Shumlin’s executive skills that he got suckered for millions of dollars by a company that has a track record of gobbling up tax money and pooping out failure.
Can you clarify, does that mean small biz can’t elect to keep current plans, only individuals? Also, does this change the process for payment? Currently the business pays the insurance co. directly but under the new system the state is suppose to bill all of us, collect the money and then pay the insurance companies. Is this even possible to do by mid. December? It would be great if we could keep paying the insurance co. directly until they get it right…no one is even talking about the payment and billing part of this yet.
you can keep your current policy until March. By then you have to have signed up with the State. Or pay the fine.
It’s probably cheaper to keep your old policy and just pay the fine.
Here’s a question for the Gov to answer on this boondoggle of his. If I don’t have to switch to the state until March… Do I have to pay a fine to the feds still?
I’m guessing that yes. You can keep your policy until March. But if it doesn’t meet the requirements you still have to pay the fine. AND if you haven’t added/altered existing insurance plans forget it.
This is how utterly stupid this whole fiasco is… called to see about getting a family plan from the employer… nope open enrollment has passed. Sign up with the State? Nope if your spouse is eligible for family plans through work you can not get state subsidies to pay the $1500+ / month for two people no matter what you make.
NO INSURANCE FOR YOU !!!
Whole lot in Montpelier are a bunch of fucking morons. They pushed this through to beat Obamacare and “lead” the nation without even considering the actual ramifications….
Term Limits people, term limits. Want my vote, not until you support term limits……..
Do you mean to say $1,500 for a family plan? Because the most expensive two-person plan is $1,188.60.
If you can’t enroll with your current company because open enrollment has ended, are you currently uninsured? So, you declined coverage during open enrollment? Now you’re upset that you’re uninsured? Maybe I’m not reading this correctly, but I don’t understand your complaint…
No you aren’t reading it correctly.
Its a hypothetical, the point I was making which I thought was clear was that it wasn’t thought out. It was forced through. At the time they had NO PLAN on how to implement it. Now, they still don’t have it figured out.
Why did they not tell BC/BS to allow people to sign up during this period? Or they needed to get the information out PRIOR to insurance companies open enrollment.
This was supposed to the greatest cheapest thing since sliced bread. So what if a person waited intending on enrolling in the states exchange. Then the numbers came out and it’s overly expensive. Now they are screwed. And why is that? Because the state pushed something through with no idea on how it was going to happen. That is irresponsible AT BEST.
Why should the people of this state be made to pay for their governments inadequacies. They shouldn’t. The state needs to tell the insurance companies to change their policy or the state needs change theirs.
This exchange was a half-assed endeavor at trying to be the “leader” of the nation on social issues. It was asnine, poorly thought out and poorly conceived. The state want’s single payer they should have just done it, and left well alone until they did got it implemented and done so correctly. They very well could and will financially ruin families. And that is unacceptable.