Month: October 2013

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. administration on Tuesday encouraged potential enrollees in Obamacare health coverage to seek in-person assistance from a call center and other sources after technical glitches emerged at the debut of the law's new online healthcare marketplaces. A federally run marketplace for consumers in 36 states began posting error messages soon after the system opened for enrollment at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), citing online traffic as a reason for the difficulties. An administration official said experts were aware of the issue and were working to address it. …

(Reuters) – Maryland's state-run Obamacare health insurance marketplace announced a four-hour enrollment delay on Tuesday, citing technical problems less than 10 minutes after the system was scheduled to begin signing up uninsured residents for coverage. "We apologize for the inconvenience," the online marketplace called the Maryland Health Connection informed potential enrollees at 8:09 a.m. EDT (1209 GMT). "Thank you for visiting Maryland Health Connection. We are experiencing connectivity issues. Please visit the site again at 12 Noon." (Reporting by Michele Gershberg; Editing by Gerald E. …

By Jon Herskovitz JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – The number of rhinos killed by poachers has hit a new annual record in South Africa, raising worries of a downward population spiral in a country that is home to almost all of Africa's rhinos. As of the end of September, 704 rhinos had been killed by poachers in South Africa, exceeding the annual record of 668 set in 2012, according to data provided by the Environmental Affairs ministry on Tuesday. …

Today marks the launch of the health insurance exchanges.