Insurance Broker Says Problems Far From Over With Affordable Care Act

DENVER, Colo. (CBS4) – A Denver broker that has been preparing for the Affordable Care Act for two years says it's been challenging and that more problems are still on the way.

Tom Crennen is an insurance broker with coloradohealth.com and has been preparing for Obamacare for a while now. He thinks that the problems are only just getting started.

"Obamacare has been extremely challenging I guess is what I'd have to say," said Crennen.

He's bought more software, added more staff and more man hours I order to help prepare for Obamacare.

"My guys have been staying up until 3 a.m. on the system because that's when it runs the best," said Crennen.

In the first month 106,000 Americans have successfully enrolled and only about 27,000 of those have used the national website. The majority who have successfully signed up have uses state sites like Connect for Health Colorado.

LINK: connectforhealthco.com

An estimated 7 million Americans will need to buy insurance.

President Obama said Friday that the website is working better and they need to work together with providers.

"We all share a similar value which is we want to make sure that Americans have good solid coverage," said the President.

Crennen says even though President Obama has asked providers to reissue and extend cancelled policies, it's too late for the Dec. 15 deadline.

"We think that about 70 percent of our clients are going to have to change to a different health insurance in 2014," said Crennen.

He says that the entire system is not bad but he is worried that in the time it takes to sort things out, some local insurance companies will go out of business.

"I think that probably maybe 50% of the health insurance brokers won't make it through," said Crennen.