One in four applications for ObamaCare was botched during the process of forwarding the electronic files to insurers over the last two months, officials admitted Friday.
The startling 25 percent error rate for October and November means that thousands who signed up on Healthcare.gov during that time could face problems when they try to use their new policies starting Jan. 1.
The error rate fell to 10 percent this month, after repairs were made to the troubled Web site.
But insurance-industry leaders are warning that the transmission situation is far from resolved.
“The new process put in place this week is making a difference. The enrollment files are getting better, but there is more work to do to ensure consumers are covered,” said Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, which represents the industry.
About 26,800 people enrolled in the new national health plan through the federal Web portal in October, according to official figures.
Though the White House has yet to release the November numbers, published reports estimate about 106,000 signed up.
After the widely-publicized “fix,” enrollments jumped to 29,000 in the first two days this month.
In total, the number of errors could be as high as 36,100.
The snafus ranged from duplicate applications from the same person to applications that were never transmitted at all.
In some cases, poorly written software coding identified the wrong spouse as the policy holder.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, which oversees the system, released the first details of the error rates on the so-called 834 enrollment files during a Friday conference call.
For weeks, it had been ducking questions about the extent of the transmission problems.
CMS spokesowman Julia Bataille stressed that the figures were a preliminary “snapshot” and that the agency still doesn’t have precise numbers.
“It has been difficult for us to categorize and quantify the number of errors,” she said.
Bataille said technicians are painstakingly going over individual applications with insurance companies to “reconcile” differences.
The enrollment deadline is Dec. 23 for coverage that begins Jan. 1.
But insurers can’t send out bills without the data submitted by the enrollees.
To be safe, Bataille said, anyone who filed an application in the individual marketplace should contact their insurer and pay the first month’s premium.