Date: 06/05/2015
Final
Public Feedback, Constituent Requests, & Material Received in 2015
HEALTH CARE EXCHANGE
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09:05 AM -- Review of Public Feedback Surveys, Constituent Requests, and Materials Received
Senator Roberts called the meeting to order. She reviewed the agenda (Attachment A).
150605 AttachA.pdf
Bill Zepernick, Legislative Council Staff, presented updated cumulative statistics gathered from the public feedback survey concerning consumer experiences with Connect for Health Colorado (the exchange). The survey is located on the committee's website at www.colorado.gov/LCS/exchangereviewcomm. Referring to information provided in the Legislative Council Staff (LCS) memorandum titled Update on Public Feedback on Connect for Health Colorado (Attachment B), Mr. Zepernick told the committee that between May 1, 2015, and May 28, 2015, 17 survey responses were received. He explained that the concerns appear to be the same as concerns identified by previous survey respondents. The concerns identified by both consumers and brokers who completed the survey included:
- delays in confirming coverage with insurance carriers;
- difficulties in payments being processed correctly;
- long waiting times and varying degrees of knowledge when calling the customer support center;
- high cost of plans offered through the exchange;
- frustrations with the shared-eligibility system, including having to first apply for Medicaid before being determined eligible for the subsidy; and
- difficulties using the Connect for Health Colorado website; however, the plan comparison feature was complimented.
150605 AttachB.pdf
Mr. Zepernick then highlighted the materials received by the committee in meetings throughout 2015 (Attachment C).
150605 AttachC.pdf
Elizabeth Haskell, Legislative Council Staff, provided a LCS memorandum titled Number of Constituent Requests Related to Connect for Health Colorado - October 2013 through May 2015to the committee (Attachment D). She told the committee about constituent services provided by LCS relating to Connect for Health Colorado. She stated that 118 constituent requests have been received since October 2013. She discussed communication issues between Connect for Health Colorado and insurance companies, as well as with the Department of Health Care Policy and Financing. Ms. Haskell discussed the process for receiving requests and some limitations on the information available. She responded to questions about the amount of staff time required to respond to constituent requests and the types of issues that are being referred to constituent services. Ms. Haskell explained that it takes about 30 to 45 minutes total of staff time per request, and the difficulty some constituent are having getting a corrected 1094A tax form is a new issue this year. She was not able to address whether ongoing problems such as Medicaid eligibility determinations have been addressed over time. Ms. Haskell responded to committee questions stating that the issues brought forth in constituent services are similar to the issues identified in the public feedback survey. In response to questions about the time it takes to resolve constituent requests, Ms. Haskell responded that her office could not accurately provided a timeline on how long it takes for the exchange or other agencies to resolve constituent's concerns.
150605 AttachD.pdf
09:21 AM -- Senator Roberts told the committee that, in addition to the time set aside at 1:30 pm for public testimony, she was going to allow a few minutes for public testimony at this point in the meeting since a member of the public was in attendance.
09:22 AM Public Comment
09:22 AM -- Mr. Sameen Brenn, representing himself, spoke about the difficulty he had signing up his wife for a Kaiser insurance plan through the exchange when her Medicaid coverage ended after the birth of her child. He explained that he and his wife were both on a Kaiser plan prior to the birth of their child in December, but when the child was born it was recommended to him to apply for Medicaid for the baby. It turned out that both the baby and his wife were eligible for Medicaid. Once his wife's Medicaid eligibility ended, he had difficulty communicating with the exchange and Kaiser to get her covered by a Kaiser plan. Mr. Brenn detailed his experience of having to provided the same documents more than once and the difficulty determining the correct premium subsidy. He stated the issues have been resolved and his wife now has coverage. Committee discussion followed about the process used by Medicaid to notify clients of acceptance and denials and Medicaid eligibility categories.