STARKSBORO — Jeffrey Keeney, the Starksboro man who was having trouble with the Vermont Health Connect website and the focus of an article in our Dec. 19 issue, told the Independent this week that he completed the application for himself and his family Dec. 24. Keeney said a VHC representative told him that his family’s insurance should begin on time on Jan. 1.
After Keeney had struggled with the site’s interface since mid-November and waited days for representatives to return his phone calls, state Rep. Mike Fisher, D-Lincoln, intervened on Keeney’s behalf.
The problem seemed to be rectified, though Keeney’s 16-year-old son was inexplicably listed as the primary contact for the account. VHC officials weren’t able to fix that problem, but said the application could still be completed.
“The answer I got on the 24th was that even though my son was the primary contact, it would have no bearing on the rest of the contract,” Keeney said. “Everything appears to be working fine now.”
Keeney said on Monday that he was just waiting for a policy number from his insurance provider, which he hoped was already in the mail.
Department of Vermont Health Access officials said that tens of thousands of Vermonters were set to begin Vermont Health Connect plans on Jan. 1.