JIM ACOSTA: And while the administration works to improve the Obamacare Web site on the front end, insurers are worried about problems on the back end. Our Investigative Correspondent Chris Frates is digging into that story. So, Chris, explain that difference between how it’s working on the front end or may work on the front end but not on the back end.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, right, Jim. What insurers are worried about is this idea that once the Web site’s working and people can actually go on and sign up, that their personal data won’t get transmitted correctly to insurance companies. Insurance companies need that data to enroll people. And when I talked to officials in the insurance industry, they’re telling me that that information that’s coming across, it’s inaccurate, it’s duplicative and, in some cases, they’re not getting it at all.
ACOSTA: OK, that sounds like a major problem to me. Does that mean that people who thought they were insured when they sign up actually don’t have coverage?
FRATES: Well, that’s the concern. And the insurers need this information. They need good data to make sure that people get enrolled. They need to know where people live. They need to know who their dependents are. And without this information, there’s big trouble brewing. And insurers are worried that the worst case scenario here is somebody goes to the Web site, they click sign up, they think they have insurance but the insurers never got that information so that when they go to the doctor, they’re not actually enrolled in a plan. And it’s a little bit like going to Amazon, hitting the buy button and then not having Amazon send that information to the warehouse and then you never receive your product.
ACOSTA: That’s a big — that’s a big problem to say the least. So, how do insurers know they aren’t getting the information? Have they been testing it out?
FRATES: Well, you know, I asked that same question. How do you prove a negative? How do you know you’re not getting that information? And what insurers tell me is two ways. One, they’re receiving calls from people who think they signed up and are asking, where’s my insurance card? Or I haven’t received my policy number yet and realizing that they, in fact, have no information for that person who is trying to get insurance through them. The other way is that insurance companies are testing the system. They’re sending John Doe records through the system and trying to track if they come out in the back end. And some folks aren’t receiving those records and that’s how they know that they still have a problem here.
ACOSTA: That’s incredible. Now, when you go to the White House with this, how are they responding? Are they saying — are they acknowledging it? Are they saying they’re going to fix it?
FRATES: They are acknowledging it and they’re saying that they are working on this and they want to reiterate that everybody who signs up by December 23rd and pays the premium by December 31st will have coverage. They emphasize that when you get to the end of the process, you’ll see a big orange screen that says you still need to pay for your insurance in order to be enrolled.
And once they see that orange screen, they should be contacted by an insurer that they chose to — for their coverage. If they’re not contacted by that insurer, officials are telling me the customers and the consumers need to call their insurers and get in touch with insurance companies to make sure that their information was transmitted and that they will, in fact, be able to pay and get covered by January 1st.
CNN: Insurers Worried People Will Pay For Obamacare But Not Get Insurance
