Health exchange back up
State shut down site over tax credit glitch
SEATTLE – Washington state’s health insurance exchange was back up and running Sunday after shutting down for a day because of a glitch involving tax credit calculations.
Officials shut down Washington Healthplanfinder soon after open enrollment began Saturday because its quality control team reported that the system wasn’t receiving correct 2015 tax credit information from the state Department of Social and Health Services.
Engineers spent the day fixing the problem and then tested the fix throughout the evening to make sure it worked, exchange chief executive Richard Onizuka said in a news release. At 8 a.m. Sunday, the system was working properly.
“Consumers expect to be selecting and purchasing health coverage with the correct information,” Onizuka said. “While we recognize that this Saturday was an inconvenience, being able to provide correct information to our customers is paramount to what we do.”
About 2,000 people were using the exchange each hour during the two hours before it shut down Saturday. The exchange identified fewer than 800 customers who had their eligibility determined incorrectly and fewer than 150 customers who had scheduled payment based on incorrect information.
“We will be contacting each person to provide them with their accurate tax credit amount,” Onizuka said.
The speed with which officials uncovered the problem prevented thousands of consumers from running into issues with their applications, he said.
Open enrollment for health care insurance continues through Feb. 15.
People who do not buy insurance will have to pay a fine when they file their income taxes.