What's HealthCare.gov?

[Kolesar]

(an email that I received)

Nancy-Ann DeParle, The White House <[e-mail]>

Good morning,

Last week, we launched a first-of-its-kind website that makes it easier to find health care coverage and clearly explains how new rules like the Patient’s Bill of Rights in the Affordable Care Act will benefit you, your family, or your business.

While technology has made it easier to search for plane tickets or to find the right apartment, shopping for private health insurance plans has remained difficult for too long. HealthCare.gov takes some of the mystery out of shopping for health insurance.

Just answer a few easy questions, and HealthCare.gov will provide all the coverage options that are right for you, including public and private health insurance tailored to your age, location, and health needs. The site also helps Americans make informed decisions about health care coverage by offering easy to understand information about new benefits and protections for individuals, families and employers.

The site is easy to use and comprehensive, and it’s only going to get better. Throughout the site, there are places to ask questions and give feedback, and the team at the Department of Health and Human Services will be responding to common questions and updating content based on your feedback. In October, the site will include information on the price of health insurance plans and we’ll be adding other new features like tools to help you stay healthy and a database of hospital quality ratings.

The launch of HealthCare.gov is just one of many steps we have taken to strengthen the health care system for all Americans since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Here are a few others:

Parents can now rest a little easier knowing that insurance companies will be prohibited from denying children coverage because of a preexisting condition or putting a cap on the amount of benefits that will be paid in lifetime;
Young adults up to age 26 without insurance will be able to get on their parent’s plan;
Seniors hitting a gap in Medicare prescription drug coverage known as the “donut hole” are getting $250 checks; and
Small businesses are now eligible for tax credits to help them afford coverage for employees.
But there is much more to be done. Be sure to check out HealthCare.gov regularly to stay current about benefits available to you and informed about what’s ahead.

Sincerely,

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

P.S. Tomorrow, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius will be answering your questions about HealthCare.gov and the Affordable Care Act at 12 noon EDT. You can submit your questions head of time at: http://www.youtube.com/whitehouse

[inna]

1. it's the White House site, clearly. (I didn't even have time to read the OP, for full disclosure.)

[Kolesar]

2. .

[inna]

4. LOL! That is funny, actually.

:D

[Vinca]

3. It's the nice site that directs you to the place where you will soon learn

that older people with pre-existing conditions are priced out of the high risk pool unless they are wealthy.

[mdmc]

5. and that I will continue to have full health insurance yet

lack access to affordable medical treatment..

[Mimosa]

6. Vinca, mdmc and I must be in same leaky boat. *LOL*

I checked out the website a few days ago.

[mdmc]

8. misery

company :hi:

[dflprincess]

7. That's what I found

My brother has been battling lung cancer and, because he used up his FMLA & PTO, he has lost his job and had to go on COBRA which I've been paying. I don't know how long I can keep that up so I've started looking for other options. (Three of his over 18 kids were on the policy and I had to throw them overboard as the family coverage was just more than I could do.)

First I checked out Minnesota Care and found out to even qualify you have to be without health insurance for at least 3 months.

So, I went out to "healthcare".gov and discovered that the high risk pool he'd qualify for requires a person be without insurance for 4 months and would cost $1,100/month - which is more than the COBRA payment and nearly what COBRA would have charged if I kept the kids on his policy.

But even if the $1,100 were a better option and I could cover that - how the hell can these programs expect people who are dealing with a serious illness to go without coverage for any length of time to qualify?