Healthcare exchange website slow, long lines at Dearborn agency

Source: Detroit Free PressOct.儲存 01--The website where people can shop and sign up for health insurance under the new federal law was not functioning earlier today and is experiencing delays due to high demand on this historic first day when people can sign up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.Despite the website problems, long lines formed early this morning at ACCESS, a Dearborn agency meant to help people navigate the new law, also referred to by some as "Obamacare."Healthcare.gov, the enrollment site for consumers trying to access the Michigan Health Insurance Marketplace, has been giving this message: "Health Insurance Marketplace: Please wait."We have a lot of visitors on our site right now and we're working to make your experience here better. Please wait here until we send you to the login page. Thanks for your patience!"Dearborn-based ACCESS, formally known as the Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services, is one of several organizations statewide that employs "navigators," experts meant to help people through the process of buying the private insurance through the online marketplace, or exchange.Enrollment for the law's new coverage options started today with benefits kicking in Jan. 1.And that means the questions have started for those whose job it is to raise awareness and enroll consumers on the exchange.Just after the Detroit-based Thea Bowman Community Health Center opened tomini storageay at 8 a.m., a patient in for a regular check-up at 9:30 asked about his options on the marketplace, triggering a call from his doctor to Jamie Jackson.Jackson is one of four community health guides for Advantage Health Centers, which operates several clinics that provide free and low-cost care to the homeless and poor.Jackson said she wasn't surprised at the call and she was able to discuss options for the patient. Despite plenty of news about federal health reform and the stalemate in Congress, consumers are still working out the details for themselves, she said."I don't necessarily think that people will be clamoring to sign up today," Jackson said, "but I do think that the questions will start today."Rick Murdock, of the Michigan Association of Health Plans which represents Michigan insurers, said technical glitches aren't unexpected.October 1 was long anticipated, and an overloaded system isn't surprising as consumers begin shopping for policies, the prices of which were tightly guarded until this morning."That will take care of itself," he said of the website delays. He said he doesn't expect a high number of enrollees the first few days of the six-month enrollment period because consumers will, and should, take their time to comparison shop and weigh their choices.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Detroit Free Press Visit the Detroit Free Press at .freep.com Distributed by MCT Information Servicesself storage