Idaho's Health Insurance Exchange Call Center Opens
September 30, 2013
By Brittany Walters-Bearden, TMCnet Contributor
Idahoans don’t have to wait quite as long as the rest of the nation to get their questions about the Affordable Care Act answered. On September 23rd, they opened their call center to begin accepting calls, and they will begin enrolling through the call center on October 1st, the date that enrollment in state health insurance exchanges starts.
On the first two days, the center received a modest 25 calls per day, increasing to approximately 45 calls later. These numbers are very conservative when contrasted with the other state call centers that opened their phone lines before October 1st. In nearby Washington, Healthplanfinder received over 1,500 calls in its first two days.
One of the ten new call center workers told KTVB’s Karen Zatkulak that the primary question that she is hearing is people asking how the new healthcare laws are going to affect them, a question that is, no doubt, pressing on the minds of many Americans who are waiting for their own states to begin answering questions. Operation project manager Alberto Gonzalez told Zatkulak, “These folks are going to be our first line of defense when it comes to explaining this very complicated, new marketplace that we are working in, explain the plans, what the costs are, and how to access premium assistance.” Zatkulak notes that Idahoans will also be able to check out healthcare plans online and visit agents in person across the state.
For the rest of the nation, anxiety about the new healthcare system will be eased when call centers throughout the country start accepting calls on October 1st. At this time, officials are decrying a lack of information and an abundance of misinformation, but no real answers can be given until people are able to find out just how the healthcare exchanges will affect them, specifically.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson