WASHINGTON — The Obama administration unveiled a new version of healthcare.gov on Wednesday, with some improvements, as well as at least one early mistake and a new challenge.
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration unveiled a new version of healthcare.gov on Wednesday, with some improvements, as well as at least one early mistake and a new challenge.
Officials also said that healthcare.gov won’t display premiums for 2015 until the second week of November. Open enrollment season runs Nov. 15 through Feb. 15. Coverage can start as early as Jan. 1.
On the plus side, the health insurance website will feature a streamlined application for most of those signing up for the first time. Seventy-six screens in the online application have been reduced to 16, officials said. The site has been also optimized for mobile devices.
The goof is a mistranslation in large type on the home page of the Spanish-language version of the site. It’s the very first word on the page. Trying to translate “get ready,” someone came up with the wrong word in Spanish.
Insurers say one big challenge for next year will involve millions of returning customers. It’s not really a technology issue, but a time crunch that also coincides with the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
Those returning customers will have just one month — until Dec. 15— to go back into their existing accounts and update their financial information. Acting by that date will ensure that they are getting the right amount of financial assistance with their premiums at the very start of the new plan year.