People Without Email Addresses Face Difficulty Enrolling In Exchanges
One South Texas health center had 50 people show up to enroll Tuesday, many could prove what they make, but not a single one had an email address required to sign up online.
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One South Texas health center had 50 people show up to enroll Tuesday, many could prove what they make, but not a single one had an email address required to sign up online.
There was a party atmosphere at Affordable Care Act events in California, where the law has been embraced, and in Virginia, where it has been resisted. But consumers will have very different experiences in the two states.
Consumers shopping in the new Obamacare marketplaces will want to know these three things before buying coverage.
What you need to know about signing up for ACA marketplace coverage: There are new benefits, and what you pay depends on your age, your address and how much you earn.
The online marketplaces, also known as exchanges, sell plans effective as soon as Jan. 1. But they got a rocky launch, with software glitches in some cases and implementation delays in others.
The Obama administration is counting on outreach efforts to enroll Latinos and other immigrants. They tend to be younger than the general population, and so they balance out the costs of older, sicker people in the insurance pool.
They can expect to be bombarded by messages from both proponents and critics of the law.
Children no longer “age out” of their families’ plans so quickly, but for some moving to the health law’s marketplaces will offer new options.
Many are relieved they can no longer be rejected by insurers but anxious about whether they will be able to afford the new policies.
Health insurance is a complicated product. Understanding how the plans work and picking one that suits someone’s needs will take time.
The only state-run exchange in the South faces challenges from political opponents and an uninformed, skeptical public.
Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear, a Democrat, was an early supporter of building a state exchange where residents without group coverage could buy health insurance. He spoke with KHN correspondent Phil Galewitz last week.
Initial reports on enrollment, premium prices and breadth of benefits likely will not reflect long-term prospects.
This chart lists sample premiums in the 36 states where the federal government is running the online insurance marketplaces.
In several states, consumers in high-cost areas will pay at least 50 percent more for the same type of coverage as those in lower-cost areas.
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