Covered California Removes Online Health Insurance Exchange for Small Businesses February 14, 2014 Covered California, News SHOP, Covered California, Small Business Health Options Program 0 Covered California’s online Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) Marketplace is no longer open for business. California’s health exchange has elected to temporarily shutter its new online health insurance marketplace for small business only four months after it launched. Officials on Wednesday announced they are suspending online enrollment effective immediately for small businesses on the Covered California web portal. Health plans available through SHOP will still be available but can only be purchased over the phone, via paper applications, or through insurance agents. “The SHOP portal was not meeting the needs of agents or small employers and needed improvements,” Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee said in a statement announcing the decision. “Taking the portal offline will not affect the paper application process, which has been the preferred enrollment method traditionally used by insurance agents in the small-group market.” So far, nearly 600 small businesses have enrolled in plans through Covered California, representing nearly 4,500 individuals, and another 200 group applications are currently being processed. Officials said the employer exchange is expected to come back online this fall. Source: Washington Post, February 14, 2014. Comments are closed.
