Hawaii Health Connector beefs up staff

The Hawaii Health Connector has quadrupled the number of call center workers at the state’s insurance exchange to make it smoother for residents to enroll in medical coverage after a disastrous rollout a year ago.

The online marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act has hired more than 200 people, up from about 50 when it first opened in October 2013, said Jeffrey Kissel, the Connector’s new executive director.

Besides fixing "several thousands" of system defects, the Connector has hired more "human beings because we’re worried about the system not functioning properly," Kissel said Tuesday. "It’s the first year people are able to renew their coverage."

The exchange has been plagued with problems from its inception, enrolling just 10,800 people after a series of computer glitches left consumers frustrated and looking elsewhere for coverage.

But this time around, Connector officials are determined to make the process easier with more manpower and have "spent a lot of time in training."

"So people understand the different circumstances clients and prospective clients will have and follow up with them personally to be sure questions are handled," Kissel added.

The nonprofit startup, which received $204.3 million in federal funds, still needs to raise about $2 million for the 2015 fiscal year that ends June 30 to cover a projected deficit of between $700,000 and $1.8 million, according to a budget presented to board members last week. The Legislature appropriated $1.5 million for operations next year.

Fees collected from the two health insurers participating on the exchange — Hawaii Medical Service Association and Kaiser Permanente Hawaii — are expected to generate $1 million next year. The Connector collected just $120,836 in fees from insurers, its sole source of revenue, as of June.

"I’m not that kind of person who just runs to papa for the check; this solution must be one supported by the community," Kissel said, adding that his main job is to convince people of the value of the Connector, which could bring an estimated $300 million to $500 million in tax benefits over the next 10 years. The exchange is the only place small businesses and individuals can apply for federal tax credits and subsidies to lower the cost of insurance.

When asked what consumers can expect for this next open enrollment period starting on Saturday, Kissel said, "Personal service."

"We’re using technology as an aide, not as a driver," he said. "We’ve got to focus on enrollment assistance with human beings; we can’t just depend on technology. The federal government and everybody rolled this technology out way too soon. They relied too much on technology and not enough on human common sense to solve this problem, and we are going to have to suffer the consequences of that until we can settle the integration and technology issues. Meanwhile, it is so important to get people health care."

Kissel added that he has personally enrolled on the Connector, which took about 20 minutes versus 40 minutes registering for an airline flight to the mainland. But he said he "can’t guarantee that for other people," especially with the flurry of activity expected during open enrollment.

The exchange is still in a process of improvement, according to Kissel, with fewer than 50 defects, though the federal government continues to change regulations. That means the organization has to frequently revise the system.

"I don’t want to tell you the system is going to function perfectly," he said. "There is a huge technology risk the whole nation is facing, not just us. But we’re putting people first and technology second."

Despite issuing a bid for a new information technology vendor this summer, embattled contractor CGI Group Inc. is still working on integrating the software for the Hawaii exchange.

CGI was responsible for building the faulty federal exchange and marketplaces that didn’t launch properly in other states, as well as a two-week delay in the start of the local Connector.

Kissel said that rather than focusing on building the technology, he believes simply in "getting the job done."

"What I’m really hoping is this gives our customers a good experience and insurance companies see the value," Kissel said. "We don’t have a sense of entitlement; they should be here because we have earned their trust."

At the end of the day, Kissel says Hawaii residents will benefit from the ACA, also known as Obama­care, because of the access to health care for people who otherwise wouldn’t have it.

"Nobody is paying attention to the single mom who, because she can’t get affordable health care, dies early of a preventable disease," he said. "Nobody is looking at the dad who can’t afford a colon screen who dies early. We’re going to lead the nation in delivering high-quality health care resulting in longer lives in this community."