State health insurance exchanges lack search tools

The health insurance marketplaces have been plagued with many glitches since opening Oct. 1, but residents in Kentucky and Minnesota are experiencing a significant hurdle: not being able to search for insurance benefits providers.

According to The New York Times, residents are experiencing issues looking up specifics within the offered health plans, such as out-of-pocket costs for medications. The newspaper reported many Americans have delayed finishing their applications because they haven’t been able to figure out if their physicians and local hospitals would be in a certain plan’s network. 

One Kentucky resident told The New York Times he even called his physician to gain more information and was told the medical center didn’t know if it was in a certain network. 

According to The Associated Press, the state’s insurance exchange, MNsure, has only enrolled approximately 3,700 residents for coverage since the marketplace opened. Although the exchange’s executive director told the source she expects more residents to sign up before the Dec. 15 deadline, The New York Times reported Minnesota is one of the state’s lacking the search tools residents need to complete their applications. The inability to determine certain aspects of the plans may be delaying widespread enrollment.