By Donna Blankinship
and Rachel La Corte
The Associated Press
and Peninsula Daily News staff
EDITOR’S NOTE: — The Washington Healthplanfinder is online at www.wahealthplanfinder.org. Or you can phone 855-923-4633 weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Previous stories:
“Q&A: Answers to your most pressing questions about you and the Affordable Care Act” — https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130929/NEWS/309299989.
“North Olympic Peninsula gets ready for ‘Obamacare’ — with not enough providers in Clallam County” — https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/article/20130929/NEWS/130929969
Face-to-face help
On the North Olympic Peninsula, public hospitals and agencies offer face-to-face help. They are:
■ Olympic Area Agency on Aging — 411 W. Washington St., Sequim, 360-452-3221; 481 Fifth Ave., Forks, 360-374-9496; and 915 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, 360-385-2552.
■ Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics — 909 Georgiana St., Port Angeles, 360-457-4431.
■ Olympic Medical Center — 939 Caroline St., Port Angeles, 360-417-7000.
■ Jefferson Healthcare hospital — 834 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, 360-385-2200.
■ Jefferson County Public Health Department — 615 Sheridan St., Port Townsend, 360-385-9400.
■ Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest, Port Angeles Health Center — 426 E. Eighth St., Port Angeles, 800-230-7526.
■ Forks Community Hospital, 530 Bogachiel Way, 360-374-6271.
In addition, check with your local insurance broker.
___________________
SEATTLE — The website for Washington state’s new health exchange got off to a rough start Tuesday.
It was offline for nearly six hours after officials shut it down to assess why it was operating so slowly.
Michael Marchand, a spokesman for the new health insurance marketplace, said at midday Tuesday that the problem was not related to the volume of visitors or to the federal government shutdown.
The wahealthplanfinder.org website opened again for business just after 2 p.m.
Marchand compared the experience to any new software launch and said glitches come with the territory.
State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said he wished the first day had gone smoother, but “realistically, it’s a huge undertaking.”
“Don’t put too much on the first couple of days,” he said. “The system is going to work.”
Meanwhile, people continued to sign up for health insurance in Washington state by telephone or in person.
Officials said it takes about an hour to go through the process for an individual or a little longer for a family.
At a news conference at the Carolyn Downs Family Medical Center in Seattle, Gov. Jay Inslee said the state is moving forward on health insurance for all, no matter what happens in Washington, D.C.
“This isn’t some ideological discussion; this is about real people,” Inslee said.
“What this is going to mean is life itself for people across the state of Washington.”
The wahealthplanfinder.org website opened a few hours before the official 7:30 a.m. start time, Marchand said, but was taken offline a short time later.
The phone number for people to call, 855-923-4633, was not affected, and people were still able to go to designated sign-up locations around the state. Marchand said thousands called in early Tuesday.
Washington officials warned people not to be fooled by fraud sites set up to look like wahealthplanfinder.org. Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler asked Washington residents to report any look-alike sites to his office.
Some of those sites were set up by licensed insurance agents attempting to increase business, but others may be scammers attempting to get personal information such as Social Security numbers, said Richard Onizuka, CEO of the Washington Health Benefit Exchange.
Washington residents have six months to buy health insurance through the new exchange during the first enrollment period, which ends in March.
The state estimates about 1 million Washington residents do not have health insurance, or about 1 in 7 people. It hopes to enroll 130,000 people for health insurance in 2014 and another 280,000 in 2015.
Another 325,000 people will be eligible to sign up for free insurance through Medicaid.
Under the Affordable Care Act, people who don’t have insurance in 2014 will pay a fine when they file their federal income taxes in early 2015. The fines for people who ignore the new law are scheduled to increase over time.
