After requiring small businesses to buy insurance through the state exchange, continued website dysfunction has left Vermont health officials asking businesses to enroll directly with insurers.
Many small businesses in the state have already enrolled in a plan available through Vermont Health Connect, but those that haven't and are required to have exchange plans by April should directly enroll with one of two insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP, while the exchange's website problems are being fixed, the Department of Vermont Health Access is recommending.
"We do not have confidence that online premium processing for small businesses will be completed in time to provide a convenient transition for small business owners and their employees," said DVHA Commissioner Mark Larson in a media release.
The recommendation applies only to small businesses that had their 2013 policies extended by the state and insurers to March 31, the new deadline for open enrollment in Vermont and most other states, and Larson said those businesses would be getting a fact sheet explaining direct enrollment.
"Making the decision now to support direct carrier enrollment ends the uncertainty and gives those small businesses that have extended their 2013 plans the maximum amount of time to make important health care decisions for their employees," he said. "Although Vermont small businesses that directly enroll with Blue Cross or MVP are accessing plans in a different way, they are still enrolling in quality VHC-approved plans."
While it's not clear how many small businesses and employees have enrolled in coverage through Vermont Health Connect, about 27,000 Vermonters have signed up through the exchange on the website, call center and in person.
Vermont Health Connect's website's problems, though, have made the enrollment for consumers far more complicated than anticipated and, depending on how long they last, may end up dampening support among legislators and voters for Governor Peter Shumlin's single payer plans.
Shumlin has commissioned an independent review of the website's rollout and its contractors' work, as well as a survey of Vermonters probing the impact of the insurance transition and new health plans, slated for 2015.
Meanwhile, some Republicans in Vermont are calling on the governor to let businesses and residents buy insurance off the exchange. A new website, VTHealthReport.com, lets consumers share their experiences using the exchange.