Affordable Care Act Information
New Baby Could Mean New Health Coverage Options
Bringing a new bundle of joy into the world is an exhilarating and life-changing experience. From those tiny fingers to that adorable button nose, your newborn baby captures your heart in an instant. But amidst all the excitement and wonder, it’s important to...
5 Tips to Help You Pick the Right Health Insurance Plan
Are you ready to dive into the world of health insurance? Don’t worry, we’ve got your back! Navigating through the sea of options can be overwhelming, but fear not – we’re here to help. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with 5 tips to...
Explore Insurance Options for the Self-Employed
Are you a self-employed entrepreneur, with 0 to 3+ employees, wondering how health insurance coverage works? Do you have the same advantages and cost benefits? Are you wondering how you can explore your options and eligibility requirements? This article discusses what...
Health Insurance Options for Same-Sex Marriages
Due to the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, same-sex married couples qualify for the same benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as heterosexual couples in all 50 states. But despite that fact, many same-sex partners remain...
ICHRA vs. Group Insurance: Which is Best?
Prioritize your employees It’s essential to constantly explore what is best for your company and employees on a yearly basis as health insurance options change each year. It may seem best to keep offering the same group health insurance that you offered last...
ACA Subsidies Lower the Cost of Monthly Premiums
Accessible, Affordable, and Attainable One of the key achievements of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was the introduction of health insurance subsidies. For health insurance bought on the Marketplace, Obamacare subsidies lower the cost of monthly premiums for ACA...
The ACA ‘Family Glitch’ – Who Does it Impact?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) led to the establishment of the Health Insurance Marketplace where anyone could buy their own health insurance plan. The tax credits created by the ACA meant that Obamacare could be an affordable way to get coverage if you didn’t have...
How Insurance Tech Saves You Time
What Can Insurance Technology Do for You? Consumers turn to digital technology for improved convenience and streamlined processes. New marketplace technology, such as the TrueCoverage app, is specifically designed for the insurance industry and can: Save you time by...
ACA Insurance & COBRA Plans: How They Work
Understanding COBRA Under certain circumstances, such as voluntary or involuntary job loss, workers and their families can continue group health benefits provided by their group health plan for a limited period of time if they lose their health benefits under the...
Everything you need to know about The Federal Poverty Level (FPL)
FPL (Federal Poverty Level) by Paul T. Montgomery In addition to Marketplace health insurance, Medicaid, and CHIP coverage, Federal Poverty Levels determine eligibility for specific federal programs and benefits. FPL (Federal Poverty Level) A modified adjusted gross...
Understanding the Difference Between Captive and Independent Agents
When considering a career as a health insurance agent or broker, you must decide whether to become an independent or a captive agent. Both have their advantages. Agents in captivity It is possible that you know someone who works for State Farm, Geico, or Allstate as a...
Guidance for the Rising Cost of Health Plans
Cost is a significant part of the health insurance selection process, and you can provide tremendous value to clients who may be new to the experience or recently experienced life changes. They could be uncertain about the influencing factors of cost, unaware of their...
What You Need to Know about the Health Insurance Marketplace
Do you need health insurance? Especially if this is your first time applying for insurance on HealthCare.gov, here’s what you need to know. 2023 Open Enrollment runs from November 1 to January 15, 2023. Health coverage can begin on January 1, 2023 if you enroll...
Qualifying for Medicaid and CHIP Coverage
Coverage under Medicaid and CHIP Many Americans have access to free or low-cost health coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), including some low-income people, families, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people...
What is the deadline for clients to enroll in health insurance?
Here are some important dates to keep in mind November 1, 2022 First day to enroll, re-enroll, or change a 2023 health plan through the Health Insurance Marketplace®. Coverage can begin on January 1, 2023. December 15, 2022 January 1, 2023 is the last day to enroll or...
Insurance Plans’ 10 Essential Health Benefits (EHBs)
These are the 10 Essential Health Benefit Categories: An ambulatory patient service is outpatient care you receive without being admitted to a hospital. Services for emergencies. Hospitalization (such as surgery and overnight stays) Maternity, newborn, and pregnancy...
How does a health insurance deductible work?
The need for health insurance cannot be overstated If you want to remain healthy and safe, you need the right, affordable health insurance. This will ensure that you get both routine and critical medical care at the right time. Though health insurance substantially...
Is Mental Health Therapy Covered by Health Insurance?
According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an estimated one out of five U.S. adults experience a mental health issue every year. However, many of those afflicted do not seek help for their problems due to a litany of reasons, such as the stigma...
How much do Affordable Care Act health insurance plans cost?
Do you want health insurance, but not sure how much it will cost? The cost of health coverage may be more affordable than you think, whether you buy it through your employer or the Marketplace. Quality healthcare coverage is within reach and affordable if you’re...
Affordable Health Coverage Options for the Unemployed
As an unemployed person, you may be able to get an affordable health insurance plan through the TrueCoverage.com insurance marketplace, with savings based on income and household size. Connected to Healthcare.gov marketplace, you can now find out if you qualify for...
Do You Qualify for the Special Enrollment Period? Ask these Questions!
While the 2023 Open Enrollment window for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ended at the beginning of the year, don’t fret if you haven’t gotten cheap health insurance coverage! We are currently in the Special Enrollment Period (SEP), which certain triggering events may...
Give blood, feel great
Read on to discover how giving blood life can benefit you, the donor, and save a life. Give blood, and you will contribute to the US’s 36,000 units of red blood cells needed daily. A single donation could help up to three patients. Some chronic conditions, such...
Insights into Dementia – What you need to know
What is Dementia? Dementia is most often associated with forgetfulness. A loss of neurons is a significant cause of forgetfulness. As Shakespeare might have said, ‘Some people are born forgetful, some develop forgetfulness, some...
Documentation of Special Enrollment
Special Enrollment Health Coverage Application Your clients may be asked to provide documents to confirm that they qualify for a Special Enrollment Period if they qualify due to a life event. These documents must be submitted before coverage begins. Special Enrollment...
The Importance of Breastfeeding During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Across the generations, there have been reasons to find alternatives to the biological imperative to breastfeed. Modern science has provided ever safer options for mothers for whom breastfeeding is not medically possible or who choose not to do so. The first and most...
What are Non-Pharmaceutical Drug Treatments for ADHD?
Yes, there are non-pharmaceutical approaches to supporting those living with ADHD-affected loved ones and minimizing their dependence on pharmaceutical drug intervention and the risk of side effects. We spoke recently on what to do if you suspect your child has ADHD,...
What Should I Do if I Think my Kid has ADHD?
So just what is ADHD anyway? Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control regular and sustained attention as well as hyperactivity in some cases. ADHD is usually diagnosed in childhood and...
It’s Pride Month – Let’s Talk Health Insurance for Same-Sex Marriages
Due to the Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015, same-sex married couples qualify for the same benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as heterosexual couples in all 50 states. But despite that fact, many same-sex partners remain...
What Does it Cost to have a Baby in a Hospital?
Nearly 4 million women in the United States will give birth annually and in 2020 alone, approximately one in nine U.S. women of childbearing age was uninsured. If you are insured, the cost of having a baby will require you to first meet your insurance’s deductible,...
Does Insurance Cover Abortions?
Due to the recent leak of a draft supreme court ruling with the potential to overturn Roe V. Wade, many Americans have questions regarding current and future abortion protections in the United States. One such common question is whether insurance even covers the cost...
Will my Health Insurance Cover Therapy?
According to NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, an estimated one out of five U.S. adults experience a mental health issue every year. However, many of those afflicted do not seek help for their problems due to a litany of reasons, such as the stigma...
Millions at Risk to Lose Health Insurance as Pandemic Ends
A recent CNN.com article detailed the recent successes of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as well as the approaching risk of losing coverage for many of those success stories due to the end of the pandemic’s national public health emergency. Under the current...
Moving? What a Change in Residence Means for Your Health Insurance
While the 2022 Open Enrollment window for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) ended at the beginning of the year, don’t fret if you haven’t gotten cheap health insurance coverage! We are currently in the Special Enrollment Period (SEP), which allows certain triggering...
Do I Need & am I eligible for a Second Covid-19 Booster Shot?
Even if you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, your immunity to COVID reduces over time. Booster shots are needed to maintain your resistance to infection and reduce the chances of the more severe consequences that might lead to hospitalization. The word “viral”...
Am I or Someone I Love, an Alcoholic?
Most people in America consume alcohol periodically, more than 85 percent in fact. Occasional use of alcohol is not necessarily harmful. Some doctors claim that small quantities of alcohol add to the beneficial effect of a good diet in reducing the incidence of heart...
Biden Looks to Fix the “Family Glitch” in the Affordable Care Act
The Biden administration recently announced a proposal from the U.S. Treasury Department to fix an issue that has existed in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) since its inception, the so-called “family glitch.” Under the original ACA, a person or family is...
What is Alopecia? (Hair Loss)
For many, the pop-culture debate regarding the slap heard round the world at this weekend’s Academy Awards ceremony has resulted in more questions than answers. Today we will get down to the root of one of those questions; just what is alopecia anyway? Alopecia is the...
Understanding Developmental Disabilities in Children
Anyone considering starting a family, expecting a child currently, or just watching their current children grow will at some point worry about any possible developmental disabilities present in their child. But just what are developmental disabilities? This is...
Kidney Health During Kidney Month
March is National Kidney Month, but one should be aware of kidney disease year-round. But just what is chronic kidney disease? Thirty-seven million Americans suffer from chronic kidney disease, and millions more are at risk to join them, so the problem is more common...
Millions to Lose Medicaid & CHIP Coverage as COVID-19 Emergency Ends
Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act was passed in March 2020. This bill required states to halt their standard eligibility checks on current and new Medicaid and CHIP users, which could often result in denials of...
Thyroid Disease Awareness
Did you know that approximately 20 million Americans are affected by some type of thyroid disease? But just what is the thyroid, and why does it matter? The thyroid is a butterfly-shaped endocrine gland in your neck just above your collarbone, wrapped around your...
Stay Heart Healthy for American Heart Month
February is American Heart Month. But just what is the difference between a heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and how are they affected by conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure? Stoke and cardiac arrest (also known as a heart attack) are acute...
Five Things You Can Get Free From the U.S. Federal Government
We all pay taxes, and we all resent it. So often, it seems like we get nothing tangible in return. Still, there are many things you can get free of charge from the federal government, here are just a few: 1) Cell Phone – Recognizing that cells phones are essential for...
How to Get Free COVID-19 Tests and Masks
With the recent surge of the fast-spreading Omicron-variant of COVID-19, it seems like every pharmacy you visit is out of tests, and every in-house testing facility features long lines and even longer waits for results. That is why the U.S. government has introduced...
Cancer Awareness, Detection, and Prevention
Cancer Awareness Most people know the effects of cancer, regardless of the type, on an individual and their family. Studies have found there is a 40 percent chance of developing cancer among men during their lifetime. This statistic likely does not surprise you. It...
Congenital Disability (Birth Defect) Prevention
Not all congenital disabilities (once referred to as birth defects) can be prevented. Still, risks can be reduced by making good choices before and during pregnancy, increasing the likelihood of having a healthy baby. Identifying Congenital Disabilities By using...
Five Ways to Get Healthy in the New Year
Have you ever seen a list of ways to get healthy in the New Year? Bet you have. There are lots of them. Most of them will tell you to start a new trendy and complicated diet, start working out every day, or otherwise completely change your life. This will be a...
Maximizing Your Annual Health Insurance Plan Deductible
Like all forms of insurance, health insurance is designed to protect you from the unexpected. Very few of us can afford the high costs of medical interventions resulting from chronic illnesses or severe accidental injury. But unlike other forms of insurance,...
Omicron Variant of COVID-19 Enters the U.S.
The New York Times has recently reported the first-ever case of the COVID-19 omicron variant in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on December 1, 2021. Coincidentally on World AIDS Day, a...
The Fight to Hold on to ACA Enhancements in Congress
A recent CNN report detailed the current Congressional battle to hang onto temporary enhancements made to premium healthcare subsidies by the American Rescue Plan (ARPA). These additions to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowed an additional nearly 3 million people to...
The 1, 2, 3 Open Enrollment Renewal Process
As we approach the Affordable Care Act’s Open Enrollment period from November 1, 2021, through January 15, 2022, for 2022 plan year coverage, you are hopefully thinking about renewing your policy and any potential changes to be made to...
Five Epic Fails Often Made When Looking for a Health Insurance Plan
Focusing Only on Monthly Premium Costs The premium, or monthly cost of your policy, is often what people focus on when purchasing a healthcare plan. Second, they may consider the deductible, which is the money you will need to spend before your insurance pays for...
Breast cancer care. Will my ACA-compliant insurance cover the costs? Will all my costs be covered?
As with all queries about what is or is not covered by your health insurance, the answer is never straightforward. We aim to present you with some guidelines that may help inform your choice of health insurance plan. So, let us begin at the beginning. The...
Are my health insurance premiums tax-deductible?
A simple question? -YES A simple answer NO? We explain who is eligible and how much you can claim. First, let’s briefly consider the purpose of health insurance and secondly the reason why since 2010, the federal government, through the Affordable Care Act...
I think my parent needs hearing aids. What should I do? How much will it cost? Can ACA insurance help?
First, what makes you think your parent has hearing loss? The usual signs are that they frequently ask to have something repeated or fail to grasp the complete sense of a conversation. The most telling sign is that when alone, they turn the TV sound up to an...
Time is Running Out to Sign Up for Health Insurance Through the Affordable Care Act!
If you don’t have health insurance, you have a few weeks left to sign up for for low- or no-cost private coverage through the public marketplace. A special enrollment period that opened Feb. 15 and closes Aug. 15 allows individuals to use healthcare.gov (or their...
Getting Infertility Coverage through the ACA Extension
As of mid-July, more than 2 million Americans have signed up for health insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act’s special enrollment period that the Biden administration put into place because of COVID-19. Illinois operates a partnership exchange with...
Congress must Extend ARPA Benefits to keep Premiums affordable.
Without Congressional action to extend the innovative tax credits implemented as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), 2023 consumer healthcare costs could skyrocket. The ARP Act signed in March 2021 A significant part of the ARPA benefits is the temporary...
ACA Insurance Marketplace Reopens Feb 15th – August 15th 2021.
January 28th, 2021: President Biden reopens ACA insurance marketplace In a Thursday morning call, a Biden White House official touted today’s executive actions on health care, telling reporters, “In basic terms, what that means is that starting in just two...
Special Enrollment Period & Coronavirus: What It Means for You
If you lose your employer-sponsored coverage because of a change in job during the COVID-19 pandemic — or if you can’t cover premiums for marketplace coverage because of an income loss — you might have some options. Find out more about how special enrollment...
ACA Open enrollment guide-How long it takes to enroll?
Open enrollment only lasts about two months each year, give or take — it can be longer or shorter, depending on which state you live in. But even six weeks is more than enough time to compare plans, as well as apply and sign up for health insurance. Preparing ahead of...
Joe Biden’s Health Care Plan to Improve the Affordable Care Act
Health care is a policy issue that always seems to spark intense public debate. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which President Obama introduced in 2010, continues to receive scrutiny from both Republicans and Democrats. It emerged as a key issue in the 2020...
Health Care for African Americans
Almost 44 million American citizens are Black or African American, making up 13.4% of the U.S. population. This demographic experiences a long-standing and disproportionate burden regarding health and access to medical care in this country. And while the Affordable...
Can my ACA Health Insurance be cancelled?
Can my ACA Health Insurance be cancelled? If you ask this question because your insurer has threatened to cancel your coverage, or you have reason to think that they might. The short answer is YES. Many things can trigger the cancellation of your policy. ...
The Special Enrollment Period (SEP) Change in Residence
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has a restricted enrollment period from January 1st until November 1st each year. It is an arbitrary rule for health insurance enrollment, but there is a way to get health insurance outside of this brief period if...
Making Sense: An Affordable Care Act Refresher & Quick Guide
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act came into effect in 2010. Prior to the introduction of the act, insurers had the right to refuse individuals health coverage for any reason, effectively preventing many people from accessing the benefits of health...
How Insurance Agents Help You Find Affordable Health Insurance Plans.
Health insurance is a major purchase. Depending on your location, health, age, family status, income and other factors, you could pay as little as nothing or as much as thousands of dollars a year for coverage. But no matter how much you pay in premiums, you obviously...
The Affordable Care Act, Abortion Coverage, and the Death of RBG – What’s Next?
On the evening of September 18, 2020, America was rocked by sad news: Ruth Bader Ginsburg (RBG), a longtime Associate Justice on the Supreme Court, died due to complications with pancreatic cancer. Throughout her career, the 87-year-old had built a reputation as a...
Smoking and health insurance. All you need to know
Smoker or not, anyone applying for ACA-compliant health insurance (Obamacare) has to answer the question: Do you use tobacco? Does Smoking affect Health Insurance premium? For those who smoke cigarettes, cigars, a pipe, or chew tobacco, the answer is simple. For those...
What Happens if the Affordable Care Act is Repealed?
For many Americans, the future of health insurance coverage is uncertain. The fate of nearly 20 million people could lie in the hands of just a few individuals: the nine Justices that make up the United States Supreme Court. Since his 2016 campaign, President Trump...
Can I Still Go to the Hospital if I don’t have Health Insurance?
What happens if I go to the hospital without insurance? If you’re in good health, you might think you need not spend the money on monthly health insurance premiums. After all, insurance plans can be costly, and it’s hard to rationalize throwing your money...
Your Guide to Pre-Existing Conditions for Health Coverage and the Affordable Care Act in the Age of COVID-19.
On September 29, President Donald Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden battled it out on the debate stage one-on-one for the first time. As millions of Americans tuned in with bated breath, the presidential candidates quickly discussed the Affordable Care Act and...
Affordable Health Insurance Reduces Uncertainty in Minority Communities
It has long been clear that some groups in American society are at a disadvantage with healthcare. For these groups finding affordable health insurance that is feature-rich and useful has been a challenge. Since the beginning, cheap Health Care for African...
A Guide to Health Insurance for Same-Gender Couples. Health Insurance Plans for Family
There’s no doubt that the rights of LGBTQ people in America have come a long way in the past 100 years. From the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” to the Supreme Court’s groundbreaking legalization of same-gender marriage in 2015, our society has made great strides...
Cancel the Affordable Care Act? Yes-No-Maybe-Now-Never-I don’t know!
Is it time to overturn the ACA (Obamacare)? After ten years of its existence, President Trump asks the supreme court to cancel the Affordable Care Act. How did we get here? Where are we going? In the olden days, the eldest son rushed into town callin’ for Doc to...
Social distancing, quarantine, isolation, What do they mean? What should I do?
It may seem very simple, but for individuals confronted by a threat such as COVID-19 there are, broadly, three conditions: – I am not infected (I don’t want to be infected) I might be infected (I don’t want to infect others) I am infected (I need to be certain...
Special Enrollment Period-SEP: Qualify? Household Changes
Health insurance plans which are compliant with the Affordable Care Act are intended to run from January 1st until December 31st without change. This rule is designed to make it impossible to change a plan in mid-year to cover additional risks or to avoid paying...
Special Enrollment Period-SEP: Qualify? Health Insurance
Health insurance plans which are compliant with the Affordable Care Act are intended to run from January 1st until December 31st without change. This rule is designed to make it impossible to change a plan in mid-year to cover additional risks or to avoid paying...
