Monday, March 31, is the deadline to enroll for coverage this year through the Affordable Care Act’s process. There’s a lot of information out there, and it can be extremely overwhelming. For procrastinators, here are some good places to start, hopefully help to beat the deadline, and most importantly, enroll in insurance coverage.
A starting place is healthcare.gov. Be sure to use the .gov, as other places (.com, .net, etc.) aren’t actually the insurance exchange and at worst, can be scams. From there, if things get confusing, as insurance often does, another option is to call 800-318-2596 for help, according to healthcare.gov. Or, by clicking on “Find local help” and providing a zip code, there are more direct ways to get ahold of someone and ask questions.
The site itself answers such questions as what kind of coverage a person qualifies for when the marketplace application is filled out. Unfortunately, Nebraska is one of the states that has chosen to not expand Medicaid, so clicking on the link about what Medicaid expansion means will help explain how this affect people. However, many folks are qualifying for subsidies, which are automatically applied to specific plans, often the silver level, and help people afford more comprehensive coverage, with the subsidies based on income. Note that the one-page guide recommends applying either online or by phone, as a paper application won’t be processed quick enough to meet Monday’s deadline.
Here’s an example of how the ACA affects people in one industry that the firm works with through the website www.truckerlawyers.com. The Smiths, who are strong advocates for drivers, recently had both a blog post and a podcast about options for truckers, so follow the links to explore those resources. This information also generally applies to those who aren’t truckers, too.
Why should a person go to the effort? Because there are actually financial and societal benefits to having health insurance, especially if something happens and a person has medical needs.
An editorial in the Kansas City Star recently argued a number of points about the wisdom of having insurance coverage. As has been mentioned before in this blog, folks having health insurance coverage benefits more than just the individual.
“You’ll be pulling your weight. Americans pick up the costs of caring for uninsured patients in the form of higher insurance premiums, higher taxes and more expensive care.”
Just as it’s important for employers to have workers’ compensation insurance coverage, individuals – and their families – should have health insurance to try to plan for the unknown.