Health Insurance Alert
WE CAN HELP — Our health care policy experts are working to provide you with the resources you need to make the most of new health care consumer protections and tools.
How To Get The Best Deal
Newly uninsured and looking for coverage? Deciding if your current plan still gives you the best value? Consumers have new options and protections. Know the facts.
1. Check out your options at the Health Insurance Marketplace. The plans include coverage for doctor visits, hospitalizations, maternity care, emergency room care, prescriptions and more.
You can sign up right away, and don’t have to wait until the next open enrollment period if you’ve recently lost coverage, or in other special cases.
Online: HealthCare.gov
Toll free: (800) 318-2596 TTY: (855) 889-4325
2. Find out about financial help. You may qualify for financial help to reduce monthly costs, and could be eligible for free or low-cost coverage. Check your eligibility online at HealthCare.gov or by calling one of the numbers above.
3. Get help comparing options and signing up. Take advantage of expert in-person help at no cost to you. Find a list of people who can help you and make an appointment online.
4. Compare plans. Key considerations include the monthly premium, potential out-of-pocket costs, provider network and independent quality ratings.
5. Don’t take no for an answer. Insurance companies can no longer deny you coverage due to a pre-existing condition.
6. Switch plans if you want to. In the health insurance marketplace, every year at open enrollment you can stick with your current plan, or switch to a new one.
7. Learn more. Check out our detailed Health Insurance 101 guide, So You Need Health Insurance. Now What?
8. Keep in touch. Check for updates on our website, and tell us about your experience. We want to hear what you think so we can spot trends and advocate for ongoing improvements. Contact us.
Health Care Consumer Protections
If you have coverage, you should know about your rights under the health care law, including:
- Children and young adults can stay on their parents’ plan until age 26
- Free preventive care, including check-ups and vaccinations
- Insurance companies can’t set a lifetime cap on what they’ll pay if you get sick
- Rebates if your insurance company spends less than 80% of premiums on care
- No more annual caps on what your insurer will pay if you get
- Insurance companies can’t charge women more than men for coverage
See more information about the health care law, the Affordable Care Act
Issue updates
Beech-Nut will stop selling all single grain rice cereal after Alaska state officials discovered high arsenic levels during routing sampling, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement released Tuesday.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission approved tough new standards Wednesday to regulate several infant sleep products for the first time.
Consumers still at risk for harmful over-the-counter drug products of all types because of soft federal regulations.
A new analysis by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group found that 8 percent of nursing homes nationwide as of Dec. 27 had a critical shortage of surgical-grade N95 masks, which are the best protection against spreading the virus. Additionally, 4 to 6 percent of nursing homes reported shortages in at least one other category of personal protective equipment.
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