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Obamacare website problems cause issues in Utah

Posted at 6:34 PM, Oct 24, 2013
and last updated 2013-10-24 20:34:29-04

SALT LAKE CITY -- The national problem with Obamacare is a Utah problem too, according to a leader of one of Utah's insurance providers taking part in the federal health exchange.

"It is frustrating that we can't get them enrolled right now," said Shaun Greene, COO and founder of Arches Health Plan.

Arches is one of six companies participating in Utah's healthcare exchange, part of the Affordable Care Act aimed at middle-income customers who don't currently have insurance through their employers.

Healthcare.gov has been plagued with problems since its Oct. 1 rollout, with customers being kicked off the site as they try to answer security questions prior to enrolling in health policies.

Greene said his company is getting hundreds of calls every day, and customers are excited about the plans they offer. But in order to receive federal subsidies available through the Affordable Care Act, they have to enroll through healthcare.gov.

Greene tells FOX 13 News the website is improving, and they are slowly seeing complete registrations, but not nearly as many as they should see, judging by the volume of calls to their American Fork call center and visits at their regional information meetings.

"I really couldn't give you hard numbers because we just don't know,” Greene said. “We know that they're beginning to come through, so the process is beginning to work. We're seeing improvements but it certainly is just a trickle right now.”

The six Utah insurers competing in the Individual Marketplace are:

Altius

Arches

BridgeSpan

Humana

Molina

SelectHealth