Health Care Reform Starts Today: How To Get The Coverage You Need
Health care reform went live today, with the Department of Health and Human Services unveiling a new consumer website and a program to help people with pre-existing conditions find insurance.
The new program is aimed at consumers who have been denied coverage because of a condition and who have also been uninsured for at least six months. The Federal government will run the program in 21 states, and consumers there will be able to sign up starting on July 15 for coverage starting in August. The remainder of the states will run their own programs, with most of them phasing in later in the summer.
More new provisions will kick in soon. By September 23, six months after the landmark (and still controversial) Affordable Care Act became law, health insurance plans will be barred from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, and will have to allow young adults up to age 26 on their parent's plan. They will not be allowed to impose lifetime caps on coverage and they will not be allowed to deny coverage to consumers they already cover once they get sick.
What they will be permitted to do, however, is raise rates. While consumers probably will like the added protections under the bill, one concern is that insurers will hike their rates to unaffordable levels. For example, the Alaska state-run high risk pool lists premiums as high as $1,735 per month, according to the government's web site.
Consumers who already have health coverage may see some of their terms or costs change. Those who don't have insurance soon will have more options open to them. Here's a bit of advice:
- Start shopping. Even if you already have insurance, it doesn't hurt to see what else is out there. Start looking now to familiarize yourself with what's on the market. You can use the government's new web site to get a list of all the plans available in your market, and you can use commercial web sites like ehealthinsurance and InsureMonkey to get actual quotes. For tips on how to choose a policy, check out the excellent advice offered by my CBS MoneyWatch colleage, Temma Ehrenfeld.
- Buy a short term plan now. There may be reasons why you can't get a good policy now, but will be able to in the fall. Perhaps you just graduated college and were kicked off your parent's plan. Or you have a pre-existing condition and your state's pool won't be open for a couple of months. You can buy a 3-month plan to see you through. That's worth it; a medical crisis that strikes while you're waiting could bankrupt you. Two companies known for their short-term policies are Assurant Health and Golden Rule.
- Learn about your state's plan. Every state's high-risk pool could be slightly different. If don't have insurance and you have a condition that could be termed pre-existing (and seriously, how many people don't?) learn about your local options from the government's health care site.
- Keep your deductibles up and your premiums down. The point of insurance is to protect your family's assets from the unaffordable calamity, not to cover every penny you spend. The higher you raise your deductibles, the lower your monthly premiums will be. Save the difference in your rainy day fund, and one day (perhaps in less than a year) you'll have your entire deductible saved up and still be setting aside money. You can use that for something more fun than health care, like a new roof or washing machine.
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