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State-run 'Obamacare' sites still struggling

State-run 'Obamacare' sites still struggling

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healthcare.gov on phone
healthcare.gov on phone

Healthcare.gov is largely back on its feet, but the same can’t be said for some state-run sites. Healthcare.gov launched in October to a host of technical problems amidst a government shutdown, and finally got up and running two months later after extensive repairs. While the federal system was grinding to a halt, several states built their own Obamacare enrollment sites and experienced similar issues. Bloomberg Businessweek reports that Oregon and Maryland are particularly bad, and Oregon has resorted to pen and paper to handle some of its applications.

14 states built their own exchanges, but not all of them are broken. California appears to be one of the more successful, pushing the overall target stats upwards for state-run exchanges. California enrolled 728,000 by the end of January, exceeding predictions made by healthcare consultants Avalere Health. Overall, the federal site is just 48 percent of the way to its target, while state-run exchanges sit at 72 percent. While state sites still need improvements, it’s not all bad news. 3.3 million people have enrolled through the federal and state-run exchanges, more than half of the 6 million target the Congressional Budget Office is hoping to meet by the end of the year.