Less than 100 days until ACA open enrollment

There are less than 100 days until October 1, when open enrollment begins for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchanges. Although the exchanges are expected to enroll millions of uninsured residents, the Obama administration is facing two big challenges, educating the public and technical challenges.

The Administration recently launched nationwide outreach campaigns to educate residents about the law’s benefits and encourage uninsured individuals to enroll in the exchanges this fall. However, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll from April found that 42% of residents did not know if the ACA law had taken effect.

Technical challenges also remain. The federal and state governments still need to finish building the online marketplaces through which residents will purchase health coverage.  For example, officials in Nevada  still needs to certify health plans, test computer systems and begin a statewide outreach campaign over the next three months.  In addition, government officials must complete the IT infrastructure that will allow state and federal agencies to share information and determine individuals’ annual income levels, citizenship status and eligibility for federal subsidies or Medicaid in real-time.