Year-end chat with DOI

In an InsureBlog exclusive, we present a year-end wrap-up of some of the ACA-related issues being dealt with by the Ohio Department of Insurance. Public Information Officer Robert Denhard was kind enough to answer some of our questions:

What are you hearing from insurers regarding receiving data on the back-end that allows individuals to actually pay for insurance?

We are hearing there are still problems but that the situation is better than it was. Either way, we're concerned about any impact on consumers if information is still wrong come Jan. 1.

Have you had any feedback from carriers about missing/incorrect 834's? What are they telling you?

Anecdotally we are hearing that there continue to be issues that need worked out.

How is ODI planning to handle the continuous influx of new plans that carriers will have to submit in order to stay within the narrow parameters of actuarial value? That is, since this will require plan changes each year going forward?

We will work with companies as we did last year to review plans as necessary.

With so many folks in the individual market opting to keep their plans until December 2014, what impact do you think that will have on 2015 Exchange rates? 

It is too early to try to predict rates since we do not even know yet what enrollment will ultimately look like and what the risk composition of those enrollees will be.

We’ve had a lot of questions about Navigators. How many Navigators have actually been certified in the state of Ohio?

Information about the number of certified navigators is available here [ed: that takes you to the Ohio Agent Locator page, from which Navigator information is available. At the time of this post, there are but 70 for the entire state].

Has ODI had any (many?) complaints about Navigators? If so, what kinds of issues have been raised?

We have not received any complaints about navigators.

This seems to be an issue at the national level, would be interested to know: how many Medicaid sign ups in OH vs Exchange plans? That is, how many have (been) enrolled in Medicaid as opposed to signed up for actual insurance policies through the Exchange?

A total of 5,672 people had signed up for the exchange as of Dec. 1, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). You will have to check with the Ohio Department of Medicaid for their enrollment numbers.

Finally, do you have a sense of the percentage of agents who’ve been Marketplace certified?

Agents who are marketplace certified is information officially maintained by HHS.

Thanks, Robert!