What’s Harder Than Enrolling in Obamacare? Un-Enrolling in Obamacare

Lily Dane
Activist Post

Obamacare is notoriously difficult to enroll in, with stories flooding the news of people unsuccessfully trying dozens of times to purchase insurance coverage through the exchanges and call center. Even Obama himself couldn’t enroll via Healthcare.gov.

Now stories of problems un-enrolling in Obamacare plans are starting to surface.

Missouri resident Lesli Hill purchased insurance on the exchange after the high-risk pool coverage she had was discontinued due to the ACA. She wasn’t happy about the $950 per month premium for her new policy, but was relieved to have coverage.

Shortly after enrolling, Hill found that she could purchase an individual plan with better coverage outside of the exchange. In early December, Blue Cross Blue Shield told her she’d have to cancel her Obamacare coverage prior to enrolling in the individual plan.

That shouldn’t be so hard, right?

Hill shared her story with Fox News:

At that point, I hadn’t paid my premium … so I thought okay, that’ll be easy to do.

She attempted to use the “terminate” button on the website, but – surprise! It didn’t work.

Must be one of those “glitches” the site has been experiencing.

Hill called the help line, and “literally was on hold for several hours a day.” She tried the online chat and was referred back to the help line.

It seems that the call center employees were never told how to help someone cancel a plan – there wasn’t a script for that.

Hill continued to call, and finally was given the impression that her Obamacare plan was cancelled – until she saw the $950 premium withdrawn from her bank account.

She called the Healthcare.gov help line again, and was told that cancellations are handled by a “special department,” but the contact number apparently is a secret:

“He said, ‘I’m not allowed to tell you that,’” Hill told Fox News. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Hill emailed the governor, the state’s two senators in Congress, the Missouri insurance department and others, with no success.

As a last resort, she drove to Kansas City to ask for help at a Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance office. Someone there navigated the help line and, after some effort, was able to get Hill’s plan cancelled.

It took SIX weeks for Hill to cancel her Obamacare plan.

Fox News asked for comment on Hill’s troubles and what protocol should be followed when individuals want to cancel an Affordable Care Act plan.

A spokesman with the Department of Health and Human Services referred back to the hotline: