Poll: 65% of Healthcare Payer Executives Doubt Exchanges Will Be Ready Oct. 1

Sixty-five percent of healthcare payer executives aren't confident the health insurance exchanges established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will be operational by Tuesday, according to a poll conducted by audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG.

In a survey of more than 80 healthcare payer executives, 32 percent said they didn't think the exchanges would be ready by the scheduled launch date and 33 percent responded, "Maybe, but I have my doubts." Only 35 percent said they were confident the exchanges would be ready, according to KPMG.

Furthermore, the poll found 31 percent of executives were uncertain of how the exchanges would perform over the next year. Payers identified a number of issues as significant operational challenges to their businesses once the exchanges go online, including eligibility, customer service, enrollment, payment processing and potential financial impact.

The exchanges have already run into some issues in the week before their launch date. The small business insurance exchanges established under the healthcare reform law will open for enrollment Oct. 1 but won't be fully functional until November.

Additionally, the District of Columbia health insurance exchange will open for business next week but won't deploy the function that calculates tax credits and determines Medicaid eligibility because of the high error rate experienced during systems testing. Similarly, Oregon officials have said the state's online health insurance exchange, Cover Oregon, will launch Tuesday but will not be fully accessible until mid-October or later.

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