UPDATE November, 2014 – The information in this post is from the 2014 Open Enrollment season. Please click here for help with purchasing 2015 health insurance on the Federal Health Insurance Exchange. Here is what you need to know to access the online health insurance exchanges in Virginia, Maryland, and DC. We have also included our broker information which, when entered into your online application, will allow you to benefit
If You Enrolled in Health Insurance Through the Exchange, Will You Really Have Coverage on January 1?
This is a question on the minds of many. With the recent tales of “834 errors*” will insurance carriers really have an accurate record of who is covered under plans sold on the exchange? * 834 is the data transmission form sent from healthcare.gov to the carriers containing a policyholder’s information. The 834’s have been plagued with missing, garbled, or duplicate data, casting doubt on whether carriers will receive correct
Getting Help from a Broker on Healthcare.gov
Remember, the price you pay for health insurance already includes help from a broker! You pay the same price whether you enroll through a broker, a carrier, or directly on healthcare.gov. So, why not take advantage of the help a broker can offer! So that we can assist you in the future with coverage questions, billing issues, or claims concerns, please make sure to add our broker information on the
Another View From the Health Insurance Trenches
It has been about a month since we wrote about our experience “in the trenches” as we help our clients manage the transition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Many of you are wondering how things are going. Record High Volume at Virginia Medical Plans We, like most brokers across the country, continue to experience a record high volume of calls and emails. As you can imagine, we are doing
Online SHOP – Small Business Health Options Program – Delayed by One Year
Last week we learned that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has delayed by one year the launch of the online SHOP (Small Business Health Options Program). What is SHOP? SHOP is the federal online health insurance marketplace through which small business owners (employing less than 50 FTEs) can shop group health insurance plans for their employees. The idea behind SHOP is much the same as that of
National Association of Health Underwriters Helps Brokers Manage Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”)
The impact of the troubled online federal health insurance marketplace — healthcare.gov — has been felt by many Americans trying to manage the transition to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as “Obamacare”. And now we have a numeric representation of the impact — last week the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released enrollment numbers since the opening of the health insurance marketplace on October 1. The
Extended Deadline for Health Coverage – What Does it Mean?
The Affordable Care Act (ACA — otherwise known as “Obamacare”) has been front-and-center in the news this month, first for its role in the recent record-long, 16-day shutdown of the US government, and now for the technical glitches that have plagued the online federal health insurance exchange since it opened on October 1. This week the Obama administration announced a 6-week extension of the deadline for signing up for health
Why Should I Buy Health Insurance if I am Young and Healthy?
Why should the young and healthy have health insurance? The glitches and delays experienced with the October 1 roll-out of the online health care exchanges have left many wondering if young, healthy Americans will give up and simply not enroll in a health insurance plan by January 1, 2014. However, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — aka Obamacare — makes having health insurance mandatory for most Americans beginning on January
Using the Federal Health Insurance Exchange
Have you tried to sign up for insurance using the Federal Health Insurance Exchange? Since the exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) opened on October 1, the news is filled with reports of delays, glitches, and problems with the online system designed to allow Americans to shop for health insurance. In the two weeks + since the opening of the online exchanges, many Americans have all but given
Buying Health Insurance on the Maryland Exchange
The state of Maryland is running its own health insurance exchange — officially called Maryland Health Connection. Maryland residents who are eligible for a subsidy MUST buy their insurance on the MD exchange in order to get the subsidy. Other Maryland residents may wish to shop on the exchange as well. Jonathan Katz is an authorized broker with Maryland Health Connection, and therefore, is available to assist all of our