Heading into the fourth week of health care open enrollment there is no shortage of opinion on how things are going. Very few are favorable, and very few provide any help to the man/woman on the street. From the trenches, the level of anxiousness is rising but overall I’m impressed at the level of calm and patience. Maybe those on the pavement know enough not to get too excited…yet. I mean, come on, this is Uncle Sam we are talking about. Government rollout is a bit oxymoronic.
Not all the information and tools are available yet, and we still see daily/nightly computer glitches on the Covered CA website. Before making a decision and enrolling in a plan, we recommend you know the following first:
- The difference between the types of plans available (PPO, EPO, HMO, HSA).
- Whether your favorite doctors and hospitals participate in the plan you are considering.
- How subsidies are determined, verified and re-verified.
- If your medication is covered under the plan’s formulary.
Tip of the week:
If you have a grandfathered plan, I strongly suggest you stay with it if you can afford to; at least till the smoke clears. If you have to move plans and are not eligible for a subsidy, enroll through the private exchange (not through Covered CA), but wait to enroll till Anthem Blue Cross releases their “off exchange plans” due out in early/mid November. For more information about the private exchange see my September 4 blog posting, Welcome to the New Health Insurance Marketplace.
Standing by!
Phil Dougherty
OnlyHealthInsurance
www.onlyhealthinsurance.com