Recent Affordable Care Act News
Comparing Exchange Plans: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum
The Healthcare Exchange has four new health insurance plans which set the standard of care, named Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. All plans must offer the same essential benefits, however individual providers and states may offer extended or additional benefits. This page is dedicated to comparing the four plans.
Read More...Finally an Easy Way to Apply for ObamaCare
As you have probably heard, the ObamaCare website has had some serious glitches, but now there is a way to avoid all that. Medicoverage announced today that they are able to quickly submit applications…
Read More...50 State Premium Rates: Affordable Care Act
The Health Insurance Marketplace opening is on October 1, 2013, we have compiled a list of preliminary premiums for all 50 states plus DC. The new Affordable Care Act plans are known as the…
Read More...ObamaCare 101
We get a lot of questions about how the Affordable Care Act, aka ObamaCare, affects people like you. So, we figured we might as well explain a few of the details of the…
Read More...Sign up for ObamaCare: ACA Enrollment and Start Dates
When you enroll for ObamaCare affects when your coverage starts. The new Health Insurance Marketplace offers plans by private insurance companies, the plans are known as the new “metal” plans…
Read More...Is In Vitro Covered by ObamaCare?
In Vitro Fertilization is a procedure many Americans need to be able to have children, however most are unaware if it is covered by ObamaCare. By now most have probably heard about the essential health benefits required…
Read More...BlueCard Included in ObamaCare Plans
BlueCard® is included in ObamaCare PPO plans. BlueCard members belong to a national Blue Cross Blue Shield program that enables them to receive care when traveling away from home or living in another…
Read More...Obamacare Coops, Almost Half Shut Down
Almost half of the Obamacare health insurance coops are shutting down due to not receiving certain subsidies needed to stay afloat. 11 of the 23 coops are shutting down, and will affect its enrollees who need to find a new plan for 2016, as well as…
Read More...Silver Healthcare Exchange Plan Overview
The Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, offers the Silver plan with the second lowest monthly premium and moderate cost-sharing, as well as, its the only plan that offers subsidies to cover…
Read More...Platinum Healthcare Exchange Plan Details
The Healthcare Exchange offers the Platinum plan with lowest cost-sharing and out of pocket maximum, but the highest…
Read More...Gold Healthcare Exchange Plan Outline of Coverage
Obamacare, AKA Affordable Care Act, offers the Gold plan. The Gold plan has low out of pocket costs, but higher…
Read More...Bronze Healthcare Exchange Plan Explained
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare, offers 4 insurance plans called Bronze, Silver, Gold, and PlatinumHere are specific details about how the Bronze plan works.
Read More...ObamaCare Multistate Plans VS PPOs
Multistate Affordable Care Act plans are available on the Health Insurance Marketplace but many people confuse them with PPOs.
Read More...Affordable Care Act Multi-State Plans
ObamaCare, the informal name of the Affordable Care Act, offers multi-state plans. These plans may be purchased on the Exchange, but what are they?
Read More...HSA Contribution Limits 2015
Health Savings Accounts are health plans with a high-deductible that allows individuals and their qualified dependents to contribute pretax dollars into a savings account. Here are the 2015 figures.
Read More...Affordable Care Act: HSAs Here to Stay?
HSAs are here to stay. Health Savings Accounts are offered on and off the exchange. HSAs are high-deductible, tax advantaged health plans, that for some people are they right choice because…
Read More...Obamacare Tax Season Special Enrollment Period
CMS just announced an Obamacare Special Enrollment Period for those who were uninsured in 2014 until now, during tax season. There are a few qualifications you must meet. 1) You must state that you first became aware of…
Read More...Anthem Cyber Attack: Affects Current & Former Clients
Anthem’s, formally known as Wellpoint Inc., database has been the victim of the largest cyber attack in history, with over 80 million…
Read More...Cedars-Sinai Joins Blue Shield CA Network
Cedars-Sinai just announced that it is will join the Blue Shield of California network as of March 1, 2015. If you already enrolled during Open Enrollment you can still switch your plan by…
Read More...What Will My Obamacare Penalty Be?
If you owe an Obamacare penalty there is a specific formula to calculate exactly what you owe. Add your household income then subtract…
Read More...Anthem CA Extends Off-Exchange Deadline Until 12/31
Anthem Blue Cross of California has extended its off-Exchange deadline until December 31, 2014 for a January 1st start date. There is one caveat…
Read More...Covered CA Extends Deadline for Jan 1 Health Plans
Covered California has extended its Obamacare exchange enrollment deadline to December 21st, for a January 1, 2015 start date.
Read More...Enroll today! First Day of Health Insurance Open Enrollment
Today, November 15, 2014, is the first day of the Affordable Care Act Open Enrollment for 2015 individual health plans.
Read More...Obamacare Subsidies: Underestimated Income? What You Owe Back
When you applied for Obamacare premium subsidies for a 2014 plan you estimated what your income would be, but what happens if you underestimated and actually made more than you claimed?
Read More...ObamaCare FAQs for Young Adults Under 26
The Affordable Care Act extends coverage under a parents’ plan for eligible adult children until their 26th birthday. Here are some frequently asked questions about Obamacare coverage for young adults.
Read More...Cedars-Sinai ObamaCare Plans
Cedars-Sinai accepts several Obamacare Exchange plans and off-Exchange plans to receive coverage from the world-renowned California hospital and its providers.
Read More...Affordable Care Act: Penalties for the Uninsured
An Obamacare penalty will be assessed for those who do not have health insurance and don’t qualify for an exemption.
Read More...How to Avoid Penalties Under ObamaCare
ObamaCare can hold some pretty hefty penalties if you don’t have health insurance. Here’s how to avoid paying the penalty.
Read More...ObamaCare Health Plans: Am I Covered When I Travel?
ObamaCare health plans offer coverage that stay within certain networks, but does it cover you when you travel? It depends.
Read More...Healthcare Exchange Cost-Sharing Subsidies: What You Need to Know
The Affordable Care Act, commonly known as ObamaCare, offers cost-sharing subsidies to help cover out of pocket costs. To qualify for cost-sharing reductions your income needs to fall between…
Read More...Health Care Exchange Premium Subsidies: Do You Qualify?
The Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as ObamaCare, offers subsidies to help pay a portion of your health insurance under the new law. They are available for individuals with an annual income up to…
Read More...Feds Say: Consumers Must Renew ObamaCare Plans
The federal Health Insurance Marketplace just announced that Obamacare consumers should return to the federal site to renew their plans during open enrollment for 2015. If they don’t, they may find that they are uninsured as of January 1st.
Read More...ACA: Young People Should You Opt for a Penalty?
Generation Opportunity a conservative group has created a youth campaign telling young persons to take the penalty over enrolling in a health plan. Should you opt out? Well…
Read More...ACA Subsidies: Think You Qualify? Think Again
Many Americans are going to be surprised that they don’t qualify for subsidies even though their income falls within federal eligibility standards. The reason for this is…
Read More...Indiana Special Enrollment for Same-Sex Spouses
With the immediate expansion of same-sex marriage in Indiana, a special open enrollment period for same-sex spouses runs from now until November 30, 2014. Here is what this means for same-sex married couples.
Read More...Open Enrollment Nov 15th: Only Time to Apply for Health Plans
The Affordable Care Act, also known as ObamaCare, offers one time a year to enroll in or change your individual health plan for 2015.
Read More...Unhappy with Current Health Plan? You Can Switch on Nov 15!
If you’re unhappy with your current health plan you can switch as of November 15th for 2015 coverage. ObamaCare offers an Open Enrollment each year that allows you to either enroll in or change your health plan.
Read More...What’s Off-Exchange Health Insurance, and Do I Want It?
Affordable Care Act Off-Exchange plans explained: why you would want them and how they work.
Read More...California ACA Plans Require ‘Identity Proofing’
Covered California announced as of today, August 4, 2014, all participants in the healthcare plans through the Exchange are required to prove their identity.
Read More...ObamaCare: Open Enrollment vs Special Enrollment
ObamaCare offers two types of enrollment periods each year: Open Enrollment and a Special Enrollment Period. Here is the difference between the two Affordable Care Act’s enrollment periods.
Read More...CA Special Enrollment Period for Individuals Covered by COBRA
Covered California, California’s ObamaCare Exchange, announced that it has created a Special Enrollment Period for those covered by COBRA. Starting May 15, 2014, people who have…
Read More...Anthem CA Off-Exchange Extension
Anthem Blue Cross of California announced today that it has extended enrollment into off-Exchange plans until…
Read More...ObamaCare CA: Online App Extension
All Affordable Care Act plans must be enrolled in by March 31, 2014 to avoid a penalty*. However, Covered California is concerned that there will be such an influx of last minute applications that it has made an exception for online applicants…
Read More...Californian’s ObamaCare Jan Pay Deadline Extended
Covered California just announced that Californian’s who signed up for one of the new ObamaCare plans with a January 1st start date now have until January…
Read More...ObamaCare Fed Exchange Payment Extension
ObamaCare plans have been given another extension due to issues with the CMS site. This time enrollees in the federal exchange may pay their premium as late as…
Read More...Final Days of Tonik Health Plans: CO, GA, NV
Tonik health plans, which are popular with the younger crowd due to their relatively low monthly premiums, are seeing their final enrollment dates in Colorado, Georgia, and Nevada. The final day to…
Read More...ObamaCare: Catastrophic Plan Best for Young People?
When looking at ObamaCare plans, a Catastrophic plan may be the most cost effective if you’re under 30. But not always. Let me explain.
Read More...Colorado ObamaCare Plan Extension
Connect for Health Colorado announced today that the Obamacare individual and family plans have been extended to December…
Read More...Covered CA Small Business Site Not Working, Agents Help
Covered California’s ACA SHOP plans are still not functioning properly, even though an email sent out today claimed they were. The enrollment and quote tool for small business is not working. However, employers have another…
Read More...HMO vs EPO vs PPO Obamacare Networks Explained
With the Affordable Care Act plans you might be seeing this term “EPO” as an option. You’ve probably heard of HMOs and PPOs, but EPO is not as widely used until now. The new ACA plans…
Read More...ACA: Maryland Small Business Delay, Brokers Step in to Enroll
Maryland announced that it is delaying its SHOP enrollment launch until April 1, 2014. Small businesses may still receive SHOP tax credits and enroll through an agent or broker for health insurance that begins…
Read More...ACA: Fed SHOP Delay, Small Businesses Enroll Through Agents
Healthcare.gov delayed the Affordable Care Act federal SHOP exchanges purchased through their site till 2015. However, small businesses, if they qualify, may still receive SHOP tax credits when they enroll through agents…
Read More...Anthem of Indiana Extends Renewals Till Dec 15
Anthem Blue Cross of Indiana just released that they are extending renewals for individual and family health plans until December 15, 2013. This announcement comes after the Indiana Department of Insurance decided to reject…
Read More...Fed’s ACA Website Will Not Be Fixed by Dec 1st, CMS Says
The federal website, Healthcare.gov, “will not work perfectly on Dec. 1,” per CMS spokesperson, Julie Bataille. The spokesperson went on to say, “periods of suboptimal performance” will still be present due to high traffic and…
Read More...Part-Time Employees Better or Worse Off With ACA Plans?
Are part-time employees better or worse off with the new Affordable Care Act plans? That really depends on who you ask which answer you’ll get.
Read More...ObamaCare: Federal Enrollment Extended Till Dec 23rd
The federally run Obamacare plans have received an extension till December 23, 2013 for a January 1, 2014 start date. This gives consumers in those states an extra 8 days to decide on one of the new Bronze, Silver…
Read More...Medicare Planning: 6 Things All Medicare-Eligibles Should Do Today
Many Medicare-Eligibles are very independent and are living their lives with little to no assistance. As November is National Medicare Family Caregiver’s Month, we decided to write an article about what you and family can do…
Read More...Maryland Extends ACA Enrollment
The Maryland Health Benefit Exchange announced today that they extended their ObamaCare enrollment to…
Read More...ACA: California Rejects Obama’s Offer to Extend Plans
California’s health insurance marketplace board voted unanimously not to extend health insurance plans that are not ACA compliant. The state rejected President Obama’s offer of…
Read More...Oregon ACA Enrollment Date 11 Days Earlier Than Fed’s
According to Cover Oregon, Oregonian’s who want Obamacare coverage to start January 1, 2014, must submit applications for health insurance and financial savings by…
Read More...Anthem CA Only ACA Provider for UCLA Med Center
Anthem Blue Cross is the only provider offering ACA exchange plan coverage to UCLA Medical Center and other UC research hospitals. The ObamaCare plans known as Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum have limited…
Read More...Cedars-Sinai Only Offered on 2 Health Net ACA Plans
Cedar-Sinai is only offered on two lower priced Health Net plans in the California ObamaCare exchange. It was previously thought that none of the California Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum would be included…
Read More...Covered Ca Enrollment To Shut Down
Covered California just announced their site will shut down enrollment from November 22nd to November 25th. Medicoverage has you covered during this time. Agents will be able to help with questions and enrolling in…
Read More...4 Easy Steps to Get Covered Under ObamaCare
We know how complicated this whole ObamaCare exchange process can be, so we created a 4-Step Affordable Care Act guide to help you find out how to learn if you qualify for subsidies, get a quote, and…
Read More...ObamaCare: How Will Less Doctors Help More Patients?
It probably won’t come as surprise that there is a shortage of doctors, but with the Affordable Care Act going into full effect January 1, 2014, doctors may be pushed to the limit. The patients will either be enrolled in ACA plans…
Read More...Affordable Care Act and Mental Health Coverage
The Affordable Care Act includes mental health in its essential health benefits. It has been released what ACA plan enrollees can expect from their new Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans in regards to treatment for mental health.
Read More...ObamaCare DC Only 5 Enrolled in Health Plans
Only 5 DC residents have enrolled in the new ObamaCare Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum plans. These residents represent those who have chosen for a plan and paid for it.
Read More...ObamaCare: What Happens if My Plan is Cancelled?
According to CMS, a law in place before the Affordable Care Act was passed, known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) states that all individual health plans are considered “guaranteed renewable”...
Read More...Do you Live in one of the 24 States Not Expanding Medicaid?
24 states have decided not to expand Medicaid to about 5.4 Million eligible residents. The Affordable Care Act presented a plan to the states that 100% of the cost of Medicaid would be covered by…
Read More...Affordable Care Act: No Smoking Penalty in Ca?
The Affordable Care Act has a separate smoking penalty that can reach over $5,000 for an individual. However, when I spoke with my contact at Covered California, he said that California is considering smoking…
Read More...Affordable Care Act: WA 55k Enroll
Washington Healthplanfinder announced yesterday that more than 55,000 residents have enrolled ObamaCare health coverage known as the…
Read More...ObamaCare: States Unable to Verify Subsidies
ObamaCare enrollment numbers down this week due to outages at the Federal Data Services Hub. This system is managed by the federal government and allows
Read More...ACA: 2.6 Mil Californian’s Eligible for Subsidies
According to Covered California’s press release today, approximately 2.6 million people are eligible for federal subsidies to help with the new Affordable Care Act plans. As well as, more than 1 million additional…
Read More...CA: Alameda Alliance for Health Removed from Exchange
Alameda Alliance for Health has not been approved by the state of California to sell health coverage in the commercial market for the new Affordable Care Act Bronze…
Read More...Affordable Care Act Deadline Extended
Due to glitches with the website, the Obama Administration has extended the Affordable Care Act enrollment deadline to March 31, 2014. Wait, you might be thinking, wasn’t that already the deadline? Let us explain.
Read More...ObamaCare Penalty: $95 or $3,000?
The Affordable Care Act penalty is $95 according to many sources, but that won’t be accurate for many people who choose to forego insurance in 2014.
Read More...Non-ACA plans for Anthem CO, GA, NV, VA: Enroll Til Nov 15th
Anthem is allowing residents of Colorado, Georgia, Nevada, and possibly Virginia to enroll in non-Obamacare plans until November 15th. This means that all current clients can…
Read More...ACA: Anthem Connecticut Grandfathered Plans Cancelled
All Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Connecticut’s grandfathered plans will be cancelled and will be enrolled into an Affordable Care Act compliant plan. There have been some articles written that say “some” plans, but according to our individual broker contact…
Read More...Washington Healthplanfinder Under-Quoted Over 8,000 Applicants
Per a Washington Healthplanfinder email, over 8,000 applicants were offered higher tax credits than should have been allowed based off their…
Read More...Fed’s Health Website Under-Quoting ACA Plan Rates
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid’s Health Insurance Marketplace website has been drastically under quoting health insurance prices. The problem is that the website doesn’t ask for…
Read More...Anthem BCBS of Kentucky Announce Doctor/Hospital Networks
The University of Kentucky Hospital and their physicians have announced that they will join Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kentucky’s Pathway (off-Exchange) and Pathway X (on-Exchange) networks. We’ll explain the difference between on-Exchange and…
Read More...Wisconsin ACA Premiums
Premiums are available in all states for ObamaCare plans. This page is dedicated to Wisconsin’s health care plans. The Affordable Care Act rates listed are for the new…
Read More...West Virginia Exchange Rates
The Health Insurance Marketplace has released West Virginia’s ObamaCare plans. The rates listed do not include…
Read More...Tennessee’s ObamaCare Premiums
Exchange premiums for all the states that defaulted to the federal Exchange have been released. This page is dedicated to Tennessee’s premiums. The ObamaCare rates listed are for the ...
Read More...South Dakota’s ObamaCare Exchange Rates
South Dakota is one of more than 30 states who decided to let the feds set up their Exchange. The premium rates released by the Health Insurance Marketplace for South Dakota are for the Catastrophic plan and…
Read More...Texas ObamaCare Exchange Rates
The ObamaCare premium rates for Texas’ Exchange have been released. The rates listed are for the new…
Read More...Wyoming ACA Exchange Rates
Wyoming’s Exchange rates have been released. Wyoming is one of more than 30 states who decided to let the federal government run its Exchange. Residents of WY are able to receive help with their ACA plans from…
Read More...South Dakota’s ObamaCare Exchange Rates
South Dakota is one of more than 30 states who decided to let the feds set up their Exchange. The premium rates released by the Health Insurance Marketplace for South Dakota are for the Catastrophic plan and…
Read More...South Carolina’s ACA Premium Rates
South Carolina’s premium rates have been released by the Health Insurance Marketplace. The ACA rates listed are for the new…
Read More...Exchanges Don’t List Doctors and Hospitals
In the past fourteen days the Health Insurance Marketplace has been up and running there have been a lot of glitches. One of the big problems is many of the Exchange do not include…
Read More...How to Select an Agent on Healthcare.gov
Millions have attempted to use Healthcare.gov to research plans available in their state. However, many are receiving “busy” messages from the website and long delays on the phone. One way to avoid this is…
Read More...Pennsylvania ObamaCare Exchange Premiums
The Pennsylvania ObamaCare premium rates are available for viewing. The Health Insurance Marketplace PA plans offered are…
Read More...Oklahoma Affordable Care Act Rates
The Health Insurance Marketplace rates for Oklahoma are now available for viewing. Oklahoma, and 35 other states, decided to let the federal government set up its Exchange, which allows for two ways for residents to enroll…
Read More...ObamaCare: Louisiana Exchange Pricing
Louisiana’s Affordable Care Act premium rates have been released. The prices listed for the new ObamaCare metal plans, known as…
Read More...Affordable Care Act: Utah’s Exchange Rates
The Health Insurance Marketplace has released Utah’s Exchange premiums. The prices listed are for a handful of ages and do not include…
Read More...New Jersey ObamaCare Premium Rates
New Jersey’s ObamaCare rates are now available. New Jersey decided to allow the federal government to set up its Exchange, which allows for two ways for residents to enroll in a new plan…
Read More...ObamaCare: New Hampshire Rates
New Hampshire’s Affordable Care Act premium rates have been released. The state of New Hampshire is handling the Health Insurance Marketplace plans differently than most states by doing these two things…
Read More...North Carolina ACA Exchange Rates
The Health Insurance Marketplace has released North Carolina’s new ObamaCare plan premium rates. The prices released are for the new…
Read More...ObamaCare: Montana Rates
Montana’s ObamaCare premium rates for the new metal plans have been released. The metal plans are known as the…
Read More...Nebraska ACA Premium Rates
The Health Insurance Marketplace has released Nebraska’s premiums. The NE rates released are for the new…
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