Are There Any Open Enrollment Extensions? Many people were unable to get through to the Marketplace Call Center before open enrollment ended, but there is a short grace period. Don’t give up yet. Trump has refused to extend the national deadline past Friday, 12-15-2017 at midnight although some states have extended their deadlines. Those are listed…
Being 26: Do You Need Health Insurance? In the last 26 years, the cost of the hospital healthcare and doctor visits have jumped about 3.5 times while drug costs have increased almost 7 times. A person turning 26 this year was born around 1992. According to KFF figures, hospital spending in 1992 in the US…
You could have trouble enrolling in the ACA Marketplace if you froze your credit or filed a Fraud Alert. People who froze their credit after Equifax’s data breach may now have to rely on clearing that credit bureau’s ID-proofing hurdle before they can enroll in the Marketplace. A fraud alert can have the same effect.…
Domestic Partners and LGBT Couples Can Get Marketplace Health Insurance. If you have an unmarried partner, LGBT or not, your eligibility for subsidies and tax credits depends on how you file your taxes and on state regulations. Some insurance companies offer coverage for unmarried domestic partners, and some do not; you need to check the…
Can I get an Affordability Exemption on 2018 Medical Plans? The Affordability Exemption uses the cost of insurance rather than the cost of healthcare. Companies profit hugely from our healthcare system. People don’t. Healthcare itself is becoming increasingly unaffordable. Affordability is based on a percentage of household income, either 8.05% 0r 9.56%, and affects both employer…
Have you enrolled in Medicare for next year? You only have a few more days to do it. By Saturday morning, it will be too late. Medicare Open Enrollment Ends Friday, December 7th, 2017.
The cost of living and healthcare have been rising. Employer benefits and marketplace cost assistance help, but middle class workers are still struggling to afford healthcare.
What if you Don’t Have Medicare Part B? Many Americans enroll in Medicare Part A because it is free if you have enough Social Security quarters of employment. Part B has a fee, and you need to sign up for it and start paying for it during your first Medicare enrollment period or pay a…
What is the Best Supplement for Original Medicare? If you anticipate needing a significant number of health care visits or care in a facility, you may want to think about adding a Medicare supplement and Part D drug plan to Part A and Part B. Part B has an annual deductible of $183 for 2018.…
Federal Funds Have Not Been Approved For Children’s Health Insurance Plans The GOP has not extended funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Plan because the House, Senate, and President have failed to agree.[cite]House to Vote on Child Health Care, but Funding Will Remain in Limbo[/cite] CHIP covers 8.9 million children and 370,000 pregnant women in this…
Both health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket cost-sharing amounts have been increasing rapidly for everyone. The middle-class has suffered unequally.
The Issue We all need healthcare and health insurance, and the cost of medical care has exploded. We need to find a good way to manage the cost of insurance and care. The difficulty is compounded because wages and income have been stagnant for most of us. Even if you have a full-time job, you…
What is Medicare Cost-Sharing? When you use Medicare, you share the cost of your care by paying premiums, deductibles, copayments, co-insurance, and out-of-pocket maximums. If you receive a paycheck, part of your check will be set aside for Medicare. You pay for the program when you work and pay again when you use it. When you…
It’s Open Enrollment! Participating in open enrollment is essential even if you have been affected by the hurricanes and wildfires or are dealing with other pressing issues. It is open enrollment for both Medicare and the ACA in November and early December of 2017. Trump has talked a lot about repealing the Affordable Care Act and…
We discuss how Trump’s announcement to cut cost-sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies will affect those who qualify for CSR assistance and those who don’t.
Trump likely just made health insurance cheaper for some with his executive order on association plans and short term insurance. We look at the pros and cons.
We cover 5 steps to take to get the best medical insurance you can afford so you can get the best deal on health insurance available to you.
ObamaCare’s open enrollment period for 2018 starts on November 1st, 2017 and ends on December 15th, 2017. This is what you need to know to enroll for 2018. Some states have longer enrollment periods, so you will have to check your state’s rules. • Open enrollment is the only time you can get cost assistance, enroll…
About 35% of the insured in the U.S. are covered under single payer systems. The VA System, Medicare, and Medicaid/CHIP are single payer systems.
The wealth gap between primary care doctors and procedure-driven specialists is increasingly forcing primary care physicians to become a vanishing breed.
We look at the Affordable Care Act, asking why many people’s medical insurance or care is unaffordable.
We discuss the Affordable Care Act under Trump and look at why some states are exploring state-based healthcare solutions like single payer.
One may ask, “why do I need health insurance?” The simple answer is to protect ourselves against high medical costs and bankruptcy.
Open enrollment is still on for ObamaCare (the Affordable Care Act). 2018 open enrollment starts November 1, 2017, and ends December 15, 2017 (extended to January 2018 in some states).
The ACA Is Ours, Not Obama’s. We need a bipartisan repair of the Affordable Care Act that focuses on people, not parties. All sides worked on the ACA with Obama. Medicare and Medicaid are not JohnsonCare; Social Security is not RooseveltCare. The ACA cannot be ObamaCare. It belongs to all of us. Franklin D. Roosevelt…