One of the issues regarding the technical troubles with the healthcare.gov website that has received some attention in recent weeks, and even more so over the last few days, has been that of errors in 834 files.
These are the files transferred to insurance carriers that contain pertinent data on the enrollees. (For a better understanding of what the 834 form is, the Washington Post has
this good backgrounder).
Some of the files have reportedly contained data that was incorrect – for instance, the names of children appearing as spouses – while others have contained duplicate data, or there was no file at all. Without an accurate 834 form for an enrollee, an insurance carrier essentially cannot complete their enrollment.
While the numbers regarding the issue have reportedly improved, reporters have recently tried to obtain more specific information about the problem.
From
BenefitsPro:
Obama administration officials have been getting angry questions from reporters by refusing to even try to estimate how many enrollment forms are going out, or how many of them are right.
HealthCare.gov and the enrollment sites for state-based public exchanges are supposed to send out “834 Initial Enrollment Notification” transaction notices when consumers enroll.
