Droves of people "like we haven't seen thus far in open enrollment" sought health insurance on the last day to enroll in plans for coverage effective Jan. 1, said Curtis Hubbard, a spokesman for the exchange, Connect for Health Colorado.
He also said more people had completed enrollments Monday than any other day since open enrollment began Nov. 15.
"So it's not as though people aren't getting through," Hubbard said. "But we do know that there are people that are having difficulties for one reason or another."
Along with the spike in demand came the likelihood that some people wouldn't finish their process through the exchange by midnight.
For example, an unknown number of shoppers encountered an issue with the exchange's portal determining whether shoppers are eligible for Medicaid, or whether they need to buy insurance.
People making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level -- meaning roughly $16,100 for an individual or $32,900 for a family of four -- are eligible for Medicaid.
But the exchange looped an unknown number of people back to the form, even if they had completed it, Hubbard said. He said the exchange would work with anyone who started the process Monday to ensure they have coverage by Jan. 1.
"Everyone's circumstances are different," Hubbard said. "Traffic and the volume of calls to the call center have just led to longer response times."
The exchange plans to re-enroll people who bought plans for 2014 through the state's exchange if they did not switch or drop coverage -- a process called automatic renewal.
Most people without government or employer-based health-care coverage can still buy a plan for 2015 -- but it will take effect in either February or March. The last chance to enroll is Feb. 15.
A daylong rush of people sought help at the exchange's Colorado Springs enrollment center Monday, though only four people left enrolled by 4 p.m., said Jung Lankford, a broker who owns the Liberty Tax Service franchise that is hosting the site.
Only she and one other person -- a Medicaid specialist -- were at the center Monday. Some people began the enrollment process, but left when the exchange website took too long determining tax credit amounts, which cut down monthly insurance bills.
Several people visited the center but left before being helped because of long wait times.
After waiting about two and a half hours, Amos Rose finished enrolling in a Colorado HealthOP plan in under 20 minutes. He chose the store as a last resort, and left with a 2015 plan costing $37 a month less than his current coverage.
"The website was not very user friendly, and I couldn't get a hold of anyone on the phone, and it was just a mess," said Rose, 27.
For 2014, he bought a Humana plan and decided against getting monthly subsidies that cut his monthly bills. The reason: Those subsidies are based on annual income, and his income fluctuates from year to year.
If he ends up being owed financial assistance this year, he plans to get it through a tax refund.
When he tried earlier this month to buy a new, cheaper plan for 2015, he found forgoing those subsidies incredibly difficult. The website repeatedly funneled Rose back to pages focused on the financial assistance -- which he, once again, did not want.
When he called the exchange, Rose said he waited on hold twice -- once for two hours, and another time for an hour and a half. Each time, Rose said he got disconnected after an automated message referred him to the website.
"It was his horrible cycle that just kept going over and over again," Rose said.
Cynthia Aki encountered a different kind of problem: too many choices.
While shopping for insurance for her son, the exchange first listed about 80 eligible plans -- a glut of options, each with their nuances, that proved confusing.
After visiting the Colorado Springs enrollment site, she left with a silver-tiered plan costing $81 a month after $75 in subsidies -- a better deal than she had first considered.
"I think that there should have been more public education," Aki said.
Her waiting room empty, Lankford sighed. After hours of nonstop work, she had about 30 missed calls to answer.
Then the phone rang again -- this time, with a person upset that the exchange website was taking too long to process subsidy information.
"Remember, you are not alone," she said.
©2014 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
