Remember, folks, New York's exchange is the gold standard for them all, but even they are having problems.
http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/02/after-botched-sign-ups-empire-blue-cross-blue-shield-to-offer-free-coverage/by Nick Reisman
February 9, 2014
The thousands of policyholders who experienced issues with enrolling in Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield through the state’s health insurance exchange will receive three weeks of free coverage.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the agreement with the insurance giant Sunday morning, which comes after the state’s top insurance regulator, Department of Financial Services Superintendent Ben Lawsky began a probe into concerns that Empire was mailing ID cards and bills late.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman had opened an investigation into complaints of Empire’s coverage last month as well.
“Empire did the right thing by working to address these issues and delivering relief to consumers,” Cuomo said in a statement. “We will continue to work vigilantly to ensure that consumers receive the high standards of care and service that they deserve from their insurance companies.”
As part of the agreement struck with the state, the company also pledged to spend $2 million promoting enrollment in the state’s insurance exchange marketplace, the system devised as part of the roll out of the federal Affordable Care Act.
It is unclear how many consumers were impacted by the problems surrounding Empire’s enrollment.
The Department of Health reported last week that 657,000 New Yorkers have completed applications for insurance while nearly 381,000 have formally enrolled for coverage.
