Gov. Deval Patrick vowed yesterday the state will meet a key Obamacare deadline — insisting the disastrous website is "not the main event" — even as skeptical Bay Staters nervously struggled to sign up for health care with less than five days to go.
"Everyone who has applied and is up against the Jan. 1 deadline will be insured on Jan. 1," Patrick told the Herald at Logan International Airport yesterday morning after jetting in on a Japan Airlines 787 Dreamliner, returning from his 10-day "trade mission" to Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore.
"There's no denying the fact that the performance of the IT vendor has been subpar, but that's not the main event. The main event is making sure people are covered and the team is doing everything they can — and then some — to make sure that happens," Patrick said.
But some Bay Staters facing a critical Dec. 23 sign-up deadline who have hit dead-ends on the state's glitchy website don't have faith in Patrick's promise.
"I think it's going to be a 'Festivus' miracle if they pull that off," said Adam Romanow of South Boston, referring to the old "Seinfeld" show's bitter phony holiday for people who are disillusioned with Christmas.
Romanow, who first told the Herald on Nov. 8 that the Connector site falsely insisted he was incarcerated, was finally able to sign up for insurance, but hasn't been able to pay his first premium — due by Dec. 23 — because he never got a bill. He also tried and failed to pay on the state's Obamacare site and on the phone.
"I'm jonesing to pay my premium, but I don't know where to send it," Romanow said. "The whole thing is a complete disaster."
Andrea Lane of Arlington applied for insurance through the Connector site in October, then heard nothing until this weekend when a letter finally arrived declaring her eligible for insurance and urging her to bypass the website and call to sign up.
Facing a similar Dec. 23 deadline, Lane said she now can't access a comparison of different plans online, and doesn't feel comfortable choosing health insurance based on an operator's description of the plans over the phone.
"This is my health we're talking about," said Lane. "I need to know how much it's going to cost and whether I'll be able to keep my doctor. I have some ongoing health issues, and I need to know if I'm covered. It's absurd to do this over the phone."
With four days to go, Lane said it's too late to take a day off from work to meet with a health insurance "navigator."
"I'm resigned to the fact that I'm going to be without coverage for the month of January," she said. "I'm just going to be very careful."
An estimated 2,800 Bay Staters in Commonwealth Choice and the Young Adult Plan face the approaching Dec. 23 deadline, said Connector spokesman Jason Lefferts. It was unclear how many other people with other plans it might apply to.
The state admitted yesterday it may have to provide temporary insurance plans to some people if it can't process their applications by the deadline.
As for Lane, Lefferts suggested using the "anonymous browsing functionality ... open to everyone on the website."
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