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.
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