Today is the first day of Open Enrollment for the Healthcare insurance Marketplace. Persons looking for health insurance have three months to choose a plan and sign up for 2017 coverage. Open enrollment ends January 31.
This is the fourth Open Enrollment season of Obamacare.
Healthcare Marketplace CEO Kevin Counihan of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told The American that the website technology’s capacity and efficiency gets better each year, creating a better customer experience.
“We have enhanced decision support tools to help them make their application selection and find out the best plan for them,” Counihan said. “There’s a plan comparison feature that facilitates a much easier and more efficient comparison of different plans.
“Like last year, we still maintain the ability for people to look at a provider directory or a hospital facility directory; a pharmacy look-up feature. So, people can get on the site and determine if they’re picking the right plan and the right insurance carrier.”
He said in Missouri, 85 percent of health insurance shoppers qualify for cost sharing reductions or tax credits. Comparison-shopping is the way to find the best plan and price. People can sign up by telephone at 800-318-2596, visit the healthcare.gov website, or visit a federally qualified health center or use the zip code locator to find a trained navigator to assist in enrolling in-person.
“Buying insurance is complicated, and we know that – and it can be confusing; it can be expensive. And so, those types of vehicles are an attempt to make it easier for people, because it can be a little bit stressful to try to find coverage, particularly if you’ve been uninsured,” Counihan said. “People should not feel any anxiousness about using any of those things. Many of our enrollees use all three.
“We just want people to get insured.”
