Demand is strong as Obamacare enrollment starts in California (LA Times)

[pinto]

Demand is strong as Obamacare enrollment starts in California

Covered California, the state insurance marketplace, debuts to strong consumer demand, computer glitches and delays.

Kicking off a historic healthcare expansion, California's new insurance market stumbled out of the gate with computer glitches, long hold times and an online enrollment delay for small businesses.

Still, many consumers rushed to get coverage Tuesday when enrollment opened nationwide as part of President Obama's Affordable Care Act. It was a rocky start for many government-run insurance exchanges across the country as computers froze and online enrollment was postponed for several hours.

In California, officials nonetheless took heart at the stronger-than-expected response: about 5 million online hits and more than 17,000 calls.

"It was a huge outpouring of interest, which is good news," said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, the new state marketplace. "Today was just the starting point."

http://www.latimes.com/health/healthcare/la-fi-obamacare-california-launch-20131002,0,4856547.story

[BlueCaliDem]

1. Republicans *knew* this would happen, and that's why they were so desperate and panicked

to try to bring down the PPACA as quickly and thoroughly as they could.

As expected, they failed.