Obamacare customers beware

Some Americans who froze their credit reports following the big data breach this year at the credit-rating firm Equifax may be in for a surprise if they try to purchase insurance on the federal health law’s marketplaces. That freeze could trigger a delay in the application process.

Signing up for a marketplace plan online requires consumers — especially first-time enrollees — to prove their identity by answering questions linked to their credit history. It can affect both those who are seeking a subsidy and those who are not.

But here’s the rub: Consumers who have blocked access to their credit reports often “cannot get past the ID-proofing part,” said Matthew Byrne, founder of the Spiralight Group, a brokerage in Dublin, Ohio.

That presents problems as the clock is ticking on open-enrollment season for the Affordable Care Act’s health coverage, which ends Friday in most states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Read more at Philly.com