When the Affordable Care Act goes into effect on January 1st, it will be life-changing for many individuals. Understandably, there are many questions surrounding such an important issue, and, according to Cambi Brown of CBS Sacramento, Covered California worries that there are still misunderstandings—they fear that some people may not even be aware that starting in the New Year, health care coverage will be required, or they will face penalties at tax time.
Brown reports that the agents for Covered California have been forewarned to brace themselves for the possibility of long hours, as they anticipate that there will be many calls in October, and they find it probable that most callers will require multiple calls to get enrolled. They have been working hard to ensure that they have agents who are able to speak all of the languages that callers may need, and “The group is bracing for some growing pains and hoping to learn from the inevitable mistakes.”
The road to Covered California’s launch has not been a smooth one. The Contra Costa County center came under scrutiny for a human resources misunderstanding—several employees left full-time jobs with benefits for what they had been verbally assured would be the same, only to discover that the job they had been offered was a part-time position without benefits. The Fresno call center had to wait until Bank of America left their former building when they put over 500 people out of work in August, and, at that time, they noted that they would have to work with Bank of America to ensure that they would be able to utilize the space in time.
While there will, no doubt, be more growing pains on the road to healthcare coverage for all Americans, the success of other call centers offers hope.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson