“As more than 40 million Americans have filed for unemployment during the public health crisis, many have consequently lost their employer-based coverage or can’t afford existing health care plan payments. Supporting those who rely on coverage through the federal health insurance exchange via healthcare.gov while maintaining the website’s IT operations has since become one of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ top priorities.”
“’Our primary response has been one of looking at how we can reduce friction for folks who are recently unemployed to join the exchange,’ CMS Marketplace IT Group Director Marc Richardson said during a FedHealth IT Awards virtual event.”
“For those who have unexpectedly lost their health insurance coverage during the pandemic, the agency is offering a 60-day special enrollment period available on healthcare.gov. It’s also offering enrollment to those who expect to lose their health insurance within the next 60 days.”
“Because the special enrollment period falls outside of the typically busy annual enrollment period that occurs at the end of every year, Richardson said his team has adjusted operational mindsets to be ‘always on’ due to the possibility of systematic issues with the site…”
“While the agency manages the influx of users enrolling into the marketplace at this time, Richardson also said the team is preparing other services to maintain the stability and reliability of the platform for this year’s open enrollment period. ”
“Since the move to the cloud last year, the group has gained insights into how all of the exchange systems operate in one ecosystem, which will help with simulating and anticipating what will happen. However, they are still looking at how to realize the full potential of the cloud…” Read the full article here.
Source: CMS Prepares Health Insurance System for Unemployed During COVID-19 – By Faith Ryan, June 5, 2020. GovernmentCIO.
