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SALT LAKE CITY — Kent and Judy Jones are trying to figure out why they can get insurance through healthcare.org, but their children can't.
The Jones' repeated visits to the website continued to display the same messages over and over again which denies coverage for their three young children.
"My wife and I qualify for health insurance, but my 10, 7 and 4 year old (children) cannot get health insurance," Kent Jones said.
Kent Jones worked with Arches Healthcare within the website to find a plan he could afford. He picked a plan that balanced the needs of growing kids and for a generally healthy, young family. The system found a plan, complete with subsidies for both adults.
However, in the cases of the kids, the applications hit a road block, even after numerous tries. The official response was: "You don't qualify for health insurance through the Marketplace."
At this point, no officials seemed to know what was causing the problem either, and the best explanation the Jones' were given is that it's "probably a glitch."
Troubleshooting by Utah Health Policy project experts included these questions:
- Are the applicants legal residents?
- Are they enrolled in other insurance?
- Do they have an application pending in the marketplace already?
However, none of the Jones' responses to these questions should affect their case.
"That's the big issue is what glitch would cause that and what are they going to do to fix it," Jody said.
The Jones' hoped to have their insurance in place by Christmas, but now they're facing the new year with uncertainty.
