Most of us have heard about the coming of Exchanges as we
progress into 2013. These have also been called online marketplaces or
just marketplaces and are being termed as the healthcare solution all of
us have been praying for, for many years. Please don't confuse these
Exchanges with stock Exchange or the FOREX since the health care
Exchanges are essentially online marketplaces that will help us buy
health insurance in a subsidized, informed and easier manner. These
Exchanges will be seen in the month of October 2013 onwards where during
the initial phase, coverage will be provided to the underprivileged and
the traditionally uninsured sections of the population. These Exchanges
are being created as a part of the Affordable Care Act or the Obamacare
and enrollment will begin on a much larger scale as we move into 2014.
It
should be noted that in 2014, all the legal citizens of the U.S. should
have some form of insurance or risk facing heavy financial penalties in
the form of additional taxation. This is called the individual mandate
and according to this, all Americans should have some kind of basic or
minimum health insurance. However, this doesn't mean that you have to
buy insurance from the health Exchange only. You can buy it outside the
state-run health Exchanges, from the private online marketplace.
There
is another interesting development happening where the open insurance
marketplace is also taking the shape of an Exchange. These are
essentially portals run by private insurers that are deemed to have the
look and feel of a state or federal Exchanges. These will be called
private Exchanges and will function in a rather similar manner, offering
a host of automated functions like an insurance quote engine or faster
submissions and processing of Medicare application.
Many of the
industry experts have compared the state Exchanges to travel websites
such as Expedia. This is not too bad a comparison since the online
marketplaces will function as a search engine helping consumers compare,
choose and buy health insurance in the easiest possible manner. This is
akin to shopping for travel or ticket deals with the assurance of being
guided along the way.
Guidance will be available both across the
state Exchanges and private health Exchanges. In the public marketplace
domain, guidance will come from navigators and assisters who will
shoulder the responsibility of informing the usually uninsured sections
of the society about the criticality of having health insurance. These
authorities will also provide answers to common questions about Medicare
eligibility enrollment from seniors or employee benefit management from
the smaller employers.
Across the private health Exchanges,
guidance will come in many ways, including live chat sessions, call
centers, toll free numbers and most importantly, brokers and agents who
will be connected to the private Exchange marketplace via highly
advanced healthcare software systems. Brokers will be playing a dual
role of keeping the consumers informed about the advantages of different
health insurance plans and guiding them about the purchasing process on
the private Exchange.
By
Kristen Chawla
Buying Health Insurance Getting Easier As We Progress Into 2013
![Buying Health Insurance Getting Easier As We Progress Into 2013]()
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