Minnesota's health exchange turmoil continues

As of Dec. 1, fewer than 4,500 people had signed up for coverage through the state's online insurance marketplace, leading to apologies from its new director and talk of postponing the deadline for enrollment for January coverage.

The Wall Street Journal: More Turmoil In State Health Exchanges
Some states have signed up tens of thousands of new customers, ... But at least four of the 14-;Hawaii, Maryland, Minnesota and Oregon-;have had serious technical problems, and all four have now replaced directors less than three months after opening their exchanges. As of Dec. 1, fewer than 4,500 people had managed to sign up for private insurance in Minnesota, according to an Obama administration report (Schatz, 12/18).

The Associated Press: Minn. Could Delay Deadline For Exchange Enrollment
Leaders of Minnesota's health insurance marketplace said Wednesday they might postpone next week's deadline to enroll for January coverage, after a chaotic rollout of the state program that led to the resignation of its former executive director. April Todd-Malmlov, who had led Minnesota's marketplace since its inception under the federal health care law, abruptly resigned Tuesday without a severance package (Condon, 12/18).

The New York Times: Minnesota Becomes Fourth State To Lose Chief Of Exchange
Ms. Todd-Malmlov had been in damage-control mode for weeks, but calls for her removal grew after she took a tropical vacation in November -; a trip seen as politically unwise at a moment of crisis for the fledgling marketplace, while frustrated residents encountered issues with the website and call center (Yaccino, 12/18).

Minnesota Public Radio: New MNsure Exec Admits Problems, Promises Fixes
The new head of Minnesota's troubled online health insurance marketplace apologized Wednesday for the operation's turmoil and vowed to take on its monumental challenges. "We are committed 100 percent and fully committed to making this process a better one," said State Human Services Department Assistant Commissioner Scott Leitz, who took over as interim MNsure director after April Todd-Malmlov resigned (Stawicki, 12/18). 

MinnPost: New MNsure CEO Apologizes, Pledges Progress On Health Exchange Problems
Among other problems, MNsure has had to re-run roughly 30,000 applications for possible errors. Some people received incorrect tax credit calculations or were not given the right program designation, and the exchange has been unable to process paper applications. ... "We are committed to improving this process," Leitz said at a noon press conference (Nord, 12/18).

Minnesota Public Radio: Dayton Calls On Contractor To Make MNsure Fixes
Technological problems with the state's new online health insurance marketplace continue a few days before a critical deadline, prompting Gov. Mark Dayton to contact the Ireland-based contractor that has been the source of some of MNsure's most persistent problems. In response to the governor's call Friday, IBM Curam sent a team of its top workers to St. Paul. ... IBM Curam, owned by technology giant IBM, bills itself as an expert in creating health insurance exchanges (Richert, 12/18).

Star Tribune: MNsure's Website Contractors Draw 11th-Hour Flak
As problems with Minnesota's health insurance exchange website persist, MNsure board members on Wednesday for the first time raised questions about the competency of the outside companies the state hired to build it. "Did we pick the wrong vendor?" Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson asked. ... With a Monday deadline looming for consumers to sign up for coverage, MNsure board Chairman Brian Beutner deferred a serious discussion on outside vendors until January, but he said Jesson raised a legitimate issue (Crosby, 12/19).