Insurers Scramble to Comply With Health Rules

The first big wave of new rules under the federal health care law goes into effect on Thursday, leaving many insurers scrambling to get ahead of the changes.

Insurers are cutting administrative staff to lower overhead costs, investing in big technology upgrades and training employees to field the expected influx of customer inquiries.

Despite the talk among some Republicans of repealing all or part of the law, insurers say they cannot afford to put off the changes. Many said they were fundamentally altering their business models to cope.

“It is really the Manhattan Project because of the scale and the scope,” said Karen Ignagni, chief executive of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group.