Finding and understanding the healthcare market is difficult. We have some information on our site and have tried to provide a service to make it easier. Here’s what we understand so far:
Obamacare is really just a generic name for The Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s new plan for healthcare reform in the United States. Individuals will be required to carry health insurance or run the risk of paying fines under Obamacare starting in 2014. We can help you find affordable health insurance in 2014 to avoid any fines imposed by the healthcare reform.
Do I Have To Buy My Health Insurance From an Exchange?
There are open exchanges and they are different in every state. Some of the insurance companies we work with are on these exchanges in certain states, but not in others. It’s important to remember that you DON’T HAVE TO buy your health insurance through your state healthcare marketplaces. There are still many private insurers out there who will provide coverage at competitive rates, sometimes cheaper, so it’s important to shop around. We are not specifically involved in exchanges, but the insurers we work with all follow the same rules and laws as the providers found on the exchanges. If you buy private insurance, you’re not eligible for subsidies or tax breaks, but you may have a wider variety of insurers with different pricing to chose from. For example, Wyoming and Alaska only have two insurance providers on their exchanges, as of Oct. 1st.
The open healthcare marketplace starts October 1st, and open enrollment begins then. It’s supposed to allow people to find cheaper health insurance policies. Essential health benefits must include items and services within at least the following 10 categories: ambulatory patient services; emergency services; hospitalization; maternity and newborn care; mental health and substance use disorder services, including behavioral health treatment; prescription drugs; rehabilitative and habilitative services and devices; laboratory services; preventive and wellness services and chronic disease management; and pediatric services, including oral and vision care.
Insurance policies must cover these benefits in order to be certified and offered in the Health Insurance Marketplace, and all Medicaid state plans must cover these services by 2014. If you already have a health insurance policy, we can make sure everything is up to date and ready to go for the changes by providing you a free quote. We can probably even save you money from your current health plan.
Starting in 2014, The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare, will make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Pregnancy will no longer be considered a pre existing condition and it will be possible to get maternity insurance whether you’re already pregnant or not. That has not been the case until now. Many insurance providers would deny coverage to people with pre existing conditions.
If you’ve got any updated or additional information, please comment!
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