December 23, 2013 is Almost Here It may feel like a race against the clock, but there is still time to enroll in health insurance by the December 23 deadline. Enrolling by that date will ensure you’re covered by January 1, 2014. What Should You do if You Have Not Gotten Health Insurance Yet? First of all, don’t panic! You still have a bit of time! (Note: Maryland residents
Clarification to HHS Recommendations for Insurance Carriers
In a previous post, we outlined the recommendations made by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week to encourage health insurance carriers to take steps toward easing policyholders’ transition to new 2014 ACA-compliant health plans. We want to provide clarification on a couple of the points, and dissuade anyone from believing their insurance carrier will simply cover any out-of-network care or off-formulary drugs throughout the month of
Enrollment Extensions Under Affordable Care Act
Enrollment extensions for two key dates under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were announced last week. 1 – Enrollment Deadline for January 1, 2014 Health Insurance Plans You now have eight extra days — until December 23, 2013 (originally December 15) — to enroll** and pay for* coverage with an effective date of January 1, 2014. *Update: 12/13/13: According to an HHS ruling, you now have until December 31, 2013
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
Obama’s News Conference on Affordable Care Act — What Does it Mean?
Yesterday President Obama held a national news conference in which he apologized for “fumbling” the rollout of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — otherwise known as “Obamacare”. In addition to his apology, the President suggested a fix for the millions of Americans whose current policies are being canceled by their health insurance carrier. The Proposed Fix The proposed fix involves letting people hold on to their non-ACA-compliant health insurance plans
Impact of Obamacare on the Individual and Small Group Health Insurance Markets
Everywhere you turn these days, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — otherwise known as “Obamacare” — is in the news. From last month’s government shutdown, to the glitchy launch of healthcare.gov, to the results of last week’s elections, and now to President Obama’s recent apology for millions of policy cancellations despite his earlier statement that we’d all be able to keep our health insurance, the news can be contradictory, confusing,
Early Renewal for Health Insurance Policies
Have you heard the term early renewal when it comes to health insurance? If you currently have individual health insurance (vs. getting it through your employer), you may be wondering if renewing early would allow you to put off switching to a new “Obamacare” plan, and if it would, would it be the right thing to do? [Remember, “Obamacare” is just a shorthand name for the new health care law
Browsing the Health Insurance Exchange
Since Open Enrollment for health insurance began this past Tuesday, all major news outlets have been reporting on the glitches and capacity overload that have prevented users from getting into the sites (see yesterday’s health care news). When things do settle down and you are actually able to get in, what will you find? If the consumer experience is anything like what brokers went through to register with the exchanges
Will I Be OK Under Obamacare?
If you have somehow missed all recent headlines about the Affordable Care Act (ACA), otherwise known as Obamacare, a quick peek at our Daily News page should convince you that news is coming in fast and furious. With less than a week until Open Enrollment begins, our phone has been ringing off its hook (as well as our email box filling up) with questions, the gist of which are: Will
October 1 — What to Expect
We have been writing for several months urging you to be ready to act on October 1 — the date Open Enrollment begins for health insurance plans effective in 2014. Everywhere you turn, you’re probably hearing that date in conjunction with Obamacare — the Affordable Care Act. Well, guess what? Have you ever stood in line at a popular store on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving)? Ever lined up