Healthcare.gov is sending insurers wrong data, turning an automated process into a manual one

The problems with the new government healthcare marketplace continue to multiply. Health insurers are now complaining that applications submitted through Healthcare.gov are deeply flawed, producing duplicate enrollments, spouses listed as children, missing required data, and more, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The error-riddled applications are forcing insurers to call applicants in order to manually fact-check the data. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Nebraska told the Journal that it has hired temp workers to settle the inaccuracies, while Medical Mutual of Ohio said one customer was able to sign up for three plans.

These errors are manageable because the number of people who have been able to sign up through the buggy, glitchy site is still relatively tiny. CNN is reporting that just 245,000 people have signed up for insurance through Healthcare.gov, out of up to 7 million expected to enroll between now and March, when the open enrollment period ends.

The number of enrollees is expected to increase as the administration patches up the site. But unless the error-producing bugs are fixed, insurers could be overwhelmed with invalid applications. This is especially problematic because the program exists entirely online: the website is the only way to use the healthcare exchange.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the marketplace, did not respond to a request for comment.