*Open enrollment for health insurance starts Nov. 15*
The state Health Insurance Marketplaces will open on Saturday Nov. 15 and stay open through Feb. 15, 2015. As was the case the first time around last year, if you buy insurance on your own, this will be your only chance to enroll in or change your plan until next year (with a few exceptions, such as if you lose other coverage midyear).
Here’s what you need to know to get ready.
-You can window shop ahead of time-
HealthCare.gov, which handles shopping for 37 states (look up your state on this interactive map) started a window shopping function over the weekend. We recommend you use it. Without logging into it or creating an account, you can put in info about your household size and income, get a quick estimate of your 2015 subsidy (if any), and start shopping and comparing plans. But you won’t be able to buy a plan for real until Nov. 15.
We played with the window shopping tool a bit and were impressed—especially in comparison to 2014. Back then, in order to see the health plans available in your state, you had to create an account, get your identity verified, and fill out an application that was 76 screens long.
This time around, the plan preview feature is chock-full of helpful explanations that appear just when you need them. For instance, when it's time to enter your household income, you'll see a link to click to explain how to count that income if you're not sure.
You can see the plans within a couple of screens, and then you can filter them by multiple factors, such as the name of the insurer, the size of the deductible, and the monthly premium. And if you see a plan you like, you can save or e-mail to yourself a link that will take you straight back there on your next visit.
Many of the state-run marketplaces also allow window shopping. As of today, they included California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Washington. We couldn't find plan previews on the Massachusetts, Minnesota, or New York sites, and the marketplaces in Hawaii, Kentucky, and Vermont were down for maintenance.-Collect these documents and info-
You're going to need them to fill out your application.
· Your most recent income tax return.
· Social Security number and birth dates for everyone in your household who’s going to be buying insurance with you. (If you’re confused about this, just collect info for everyone who is on your household’s tax return with you.)
· If you’re self-employed or didn’t file taxes last year, whatever information you have on your income and business expenses.
· Log in and password for your marketplace account, if you already have one.
-If you want your insurance to start on Jan. 1, you have to sign up for a plan by Dec. 15-
You can sign up later, but if you don’t have insurance now, you’ll be waiting another month or two for it to start. And if you do have insurance now that you’d like to replace with something else, you’ll be automatically re-enrolled in your existing plan if you don't change to another one by Dec. 15. You can still switch out if you do it by Feb. 15 but you’ll be stuck with your old plan until at least February or March.
-If you want a plan that has specific doctors in it, do some advance research-
Many marketplace plans have smaller doctor and hospital networks than people expected. If you found yourself in a plan that your favorite doctors didn’t take, now’s the time to fix that. The fastest way to get this done is to call the doctor’s billing office and ask what marketplace plans it accepts.
-Tell your uninsured friends about open enrollment-
Nine out of 10 uninsured Americans don’t know open enrollment is coming up, according to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And more than half of them have no idea that financial help with insurance is available if they have low and moderate incomes. Do them a favor and let them know.
—Nancy Metcalf*Submit a question to Consumer Reports' health insurance expert. Be sure to include the state you live in so we can provide a more-detailed answer.*
*More health insurance information*
To find out how to apply for, select, and use health insurance, including Medicare, visit our main health insurance page.
*Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2014 Consumers Union of U.S.*
*Subscribe now!*
Subscribe to *ConsumerReports.org* for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products.
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Update your feed preferences Reported by Consumer Reports 8 hours ago.
The state Health Insurance Marketplaces will open on Saturday Nov. 15 and stay open through Feb. 15, 2015. As was the case the first time around last year, if you buy insurance on your own, this will be your only chance to enroll in or change your plan until next year (with a few exceptions, such as if you lose other coverage midyear).
Here’s what you need to know to get ready.
-You can window shop ahead of time-
HealthCare.gov, which handles shopping for 37 states (look up your state on this interactive map) started a window shopping function over the weekend. We recommend you use it. Without logging into it or creating an account, you can put in info about your household size and income, get a quick estimate of your 2015 subsidy (if any), and start shopping and comparing plans. But you won’t be able to buy a plan for real until Nov. 15.
We played with the window shopping tool a bit and were impressed—especially in comparison to 2014. Back then, in order to see the health plans available in your state, you had to create an account, get your identity verified, and fill out an application that was 76 screens long.
This time around, the plan preview feature is chock-full of helpful explanations that appear just when you need them. For instance, when it's time to enter your household income, you'll see a link to click to explain how to count that income if you're not sure.
You can see the plans within a couple of screens, and then you can filter them by multiple factors, such as the name of the insurer, the size of the deductible, and the monthly premium. And if you see a plan you like, you can save or e-mail to yourself a link that will take you straight back there on your next visit.
Many of the state-run marketplaces also allow window shopping. As of today, they included California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Idaho, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Washington. We couldn't find plan previews on the Massachusetts, Minnesota, or New York sites, and the marketplaces in Hawaii, Kentucky, and Vermont were down for maintenance.-Collect these documents and info-
You're going to need them to fill out your application.
· Your most recent income tax return.
· Social Security number and birth dates for everyone in your household who’s going to be buying insurance with you. (If you’re confused about this, just collect info for everyone who is on your household’s tax return with you.)
· If you’re self-employed or didn’t file taxes last year, whatever information you have on your income and business expenses.
· Log in and password for your marketplace account, if you already have one.
-If you want your insurance to start on Jan. 1, you have to sign up for a plan by Dec. 15-
You can sign up later, but if you don’t have insurance now, you’ll be waiting another month or two for it to start. And if you do have insurance now that you’d like to replace with something else, you’ll be automatically re-enrolled in your existing plan if you don't change to another one by Dec. 15. You can still switch out if you do it by Feb. 15 but you’ll be stuck with your old plan until at least February or March.
-If you want a plan that has specific doctors in it, do some advance research-
Many marketplace plans have smaller doctor and hospital networks than people expected. If you found yourself in a plan that your favorite doctors didn’t take, now’s the time to fix that. The fastest way to get this done is to call the doctor’s billing office and ask what marketplace plans it accepts.
-Tell your uninsured friends about open enrollment-
Nine out of 10 uninsured Americans don’t know open enrollment is coming up, according to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation. And more than half of them have no idea that financial help with insurance is available if they have low and moderate incomes. Do them a favor and let them know.
—Nancy Metcalf*Submit a question to Consumer Reports' health insurance expert. Be sure to include the state you live in so we can provide a more-detailed answer.*
*More health insurance information*
To find out how to apply for, select, and use health insurance, including Medicare, visit our main health insurance page.
*Consumer Reports has no relationship with any advertisers on this website. Copyright © 2006-2014 Consumers Union of U.S.*
*Subscribe now!*
Subscribe to *ConsumerReports.org* for expert Ratings, buying advice and reliability on hundreds of products.
--------------------
Update your feed preferences Reported by Consumer Reports 8 hours ago.