This post is geared mainly towards those of you in Georgia who are responsible for your own health insurance. In other words, you are self-employed or you (or your spouse) do not have access to an employer-sponsored plan. If this doesn’t describe you, PLEASE read anyhow, because you can help a friend or relative avoid costly mistakes — and help all taxpayers save money (I explain how below)!
Before you even consider purchasing coverage through the exchange, you need to determine if your household income is below a certain threshold. I share these numbers in an email I sent to my clients. You can also check out your eligibility on the subsidy calculator at the Kaiser Family Foundation site. If you are confident you won’t qualify for a subsidy and you purchase your own health insurance, you should still read the email/post since it applies to everyone — even if you have a grandfathered plan.
In light of the rocky start on the exchanges, here is How to Avoid Big Problems:
#1. Be Patient. Hundreds of thousands have already tried getting quotes at healthcare.gov and have encountered problems. The site is overwhelmed and people are getting error messages and other messages stating they are experiencing too much traffic. There are also security concerns. Hopefully, the site is completely secure, but I’m not confident of this since there was a tremendous rush to meet the Oct. 1 deadline — and security was the #1 issue. The system has glitches. This is not a big surprise for such a major undertaking. So, if you visit the site today, you might be wasting time, getting inaccurate information, or putting your personal info at risk. Don’t be a guinea pig.
The new plans become effective January 1, 2014 and the deadline to enroll for the earliest effective date is December 15. There is plenty of time to determine eligibility and enroll, if that is your best option.
#2 Don’t enroll through healthcare.gov This is a good resource for information, but the government employees are not allowed to advise you as to the best plan choice. I have explained why healthcare.gov is not the preferable place to enroll in two recent posts — here and here. Remember, Georgia is one of over 30 states that participate in a federally-facilitated exchange. Navigators and folks at healthcare.gov have a lot of information to master — and they are brand new to health insurance. By the way, as of today — October 2 — there are only 4 navigators licensed in Georgia!
Instead of healthcare.gov or navigators, get quotes and apply through a licensed, experienced agent — that’s me : ). A local agent can handle the entire process, including determining subsidy eligibility. Navigators and other government employees involved in enrollment aren’t required to have background checks and they are newly trained. They don’t carry errors & omissions insurance like insurance agents…and remember, they have access to your personal information.
#3 Evaluate your options carefully and don’t overpay! A recent article states the following: “A study from the Columbia School of Business found that more than 80 percent of consumers unknowingly will choose a higher cost health care plan than they need.”
Health insurance agents help people understand plan designs and select plans that meet their needs and budget. Many of the new 2014 plans have unusual plan designs, both on and off the exchange. Also, the lower-cost HMO plans have very narrow networks. So, evaluating your options and selecting a plan that is cost efficient is more important than ever.
As the article notes, consumers AND taxpayers could pay $9 billion more due to poor plan selection. Because almost half of the new plans will be subsidized by the government (taxpayers), it behooves us to get this information out to those who need it — otherwise, we all lose!
I am working overtime to help people with their health insurance, so please let your friends know I’m available to help… and that there’s no rush!
Greg Sanders Peachtree Insurance Advisors 678-236-1600
