Someone has to be last but don’t let it be you! Give yourself time to discuss your health insurance with experts. Learn how ACA (Obamacare) makes coverage for you and your dependents affordable. In some cases, monthly premiums are entirely covered by tax relief. The ten essential benefits and preventative services can effectively be yours FREE.
BUT BEWARE – these subsidies are only available if you shop through a health insurance exchange. The services of the exchange (Federal, State or Private) are independent and free. Their role is twofold.
- To ensure that you have a competitive choice of plans to choose from and that they meet your needs
- As brokers, the exchanges act on your behalf throughout the life of your policy
All exchanges are bound by the same rules of conduct, but in general private exchanges such as TrueCoverage offer greater flexibility and a wider range of options and ancillary services.
One thing that no one can alter is the CLOSING DATE for OPEN ENROLLMENT, DECEMBER 15th (a few states have later closing dates e.g. NY, check with your exchange)
DO I HAVE CHOICES?
If you have not yet enrolled you can choose
- ROLL-OVER – Do the same as last year! It might be the right thing to do but you won’t know unless you satisfy yourself by looking for alternatives.
- LOOK AT THE CHANGES in your family (dependents) since last year. Stop to think about the changes you anticipate in 2020, aging on, aging off. Consult at least two exchanges! Compare their offerings. Use the ‘worst case’ approach. Don’t think “cheapest” think “best value”
- DO NOTHING – This should not be an option. It is the highest risk. You could be left facing enormous medical and care costs. Unpaid medical and care bills are among the most common causes cited in US bankruptcies.
- RELY on short term insurance. In some situations, it can be useful as a stop-gap measure but NEVER as a strategy for cutting the cost of health coverage and may not accept pre-existing conditions.
- WAIT for a special enrollment period (SEP) – DON’T! Special enrollment periods are personal opportunity windows. They are designed to allow existing enrollees to modify their health coverage in response to major changes in their circumstances e.g. marriage, out of state relocation.
A common reason for not discussing health insurance with insurance is a concern for confidentiality, possibly about medical or financial details. Your personal information is used only as a basis for preparing health insurance proposals, estimates of premium tax relief and eligibility for cost-sharing subsidies (CSR).
NO personal information will be used for any other purpose and release to a third party will require your specific approval.
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