Obamacare plans nearly impossible to cancel

ORLANDO, Fla. — WFTV learned some people who signed up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act are finding it impossible to cancel their plans.

Channel 9's Lori Brown spoke with an Orlando man who's been trying to cancel for more than six weeks.

Andrew Robinson was looking forward to getting health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.

He has a small publishing business, and works part time, so he hasn't had coverage.

In early January he signed up for a plan that cost nearly $300 a month.

About a half hour later he and his wife realized they could barely afford that.

They quickly found a less expensive plan through Humana for $116 a month.

“I immediately called back Florida Blue and asked them to cancel the policy," Robinson said.

But he quickly learned canceling that coverage is no easy task.

He said Florida Blue officials told him if he signed up for the other policy, his Florida Blue policy would cancel automatically, but the exact opposite happened instead.

“[Florida Blue] took the premium two days later and almost wiped out our account," Robinson said.

More than six weeks later, after spending 50-60 hours on the phone, his policy is still not canceled.

Robinson is still waiting for the payment Florida Blue withdrew from his account to be refunded.

“This is taking my patience right to the end. I'm on the verge of exploding,” Robinson said.

Robinson said Florida Blue told him they can't cancel his policy unless the marketplace notifies them of his new insurance, but the marketplace told Robinson that's something they can't do.

He’s now considering closing his bank account, which he said will cause all sorts of hassle.

“All this because Florida Blue just won't cancel my account," he said.

A representative with Florida Blue told Brown that she would look into it.

WFTV contacted the Department of Health and Human Services to find out why people are having so much trouble canceling plans they signed up for at Healthcare.gov, but they have not responded.

WFTV