Exchange technical issues may lead to direct enrollment

As technical issues with the health insurance exchanges continue, some insurers are pushing for the government to allow workarounds to enroll Americans in insurance benefits.

Americans have experienced problems with enrolling in the federal exchange, but it isn’t the only one that’s experiencing issues – Americans are having technical troubles with the state-run exchanges as well. According to The Wall Street Journal, many state-run marketplaces have had trouble with enrollment due to technical problems, with many navigators resorting to completing people’s applications on paper. The exchanges currently have lower than expected enrollment numbers because of this, and The New York Times reported some insurers with plans in the marketplaces aren’t confident the issues will be resolved by the Dec. 15 deadline to sign up for insurance benefits.

According to the newspaper, insurers are pushing for shortcuts that would allow Americans who are eligible for federal assistance to sign up for plans outside of the system. The New York Times reported President Barack Obama’s administration is against the idea because it might end up being a security risk. However, the newspaper reported a senior healthcare advisor for the administration said the government continues to look for ways to help Americans enroll.