Start Early to Learn About Health Care Exchanges

If this impacts you, this is worth reading.

Steve

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The opening date is October 1. By then, the competition will be lined up and ready to go after bronze, silver, gold, and even platinum.

These competitors aren’t athletes, but insurance providers. The field they are entering is the new health insurance exchanges mandated by Obamacare.

Beginning January 1, 2014, nearly everyone in the US will need to have health insurance or pay a tax penalty. Those not insured through their employers can apply for coverage through these health insurance exchanges, also called “marketplaces.” Enrollment begins October 1 for coverage starting in January.

These exchanges are intended to make it easier to find insurance providers and compare their coverage and costs. Each state’s exchange website will list all the policies available in that state, with prices and policy provisions. So far, over half of the states including South Dakota have opted to use exchanges managed by the federal government instead of setting up their own.

Bronze, silver, gold, and platinum describe the four basic categories of policies that will be available through the exchanges at different costs. Here is a very brief summary of each category.

via Start Early to Learn About Health Care Exchanges.