Yep, that’s right!  I’m in need of new health care coverage…I’m not in the middle of treatments, but with a handful of more scans in the next few years this health insurance has got to be good.  Guaranteed to hit an out-of-pocket max?…You bet!

This is an activity that I find very stressful…in fact, I’ve been building myself up for it for about a week now.  But, open enrollment time is HERE!  From now until December 15th, you can apply for health insurance through the health care marketplace for coverage that will start January 1st.  Go to Healthcare.gov to start shopping!

Now, since there are no pre-existing conditions anymore, what is the difference between calling up a health insurance company to apply for health care coverage and shopping through the marketplace?  Well, the COO of Triage Cancer, Monica Bryant, answered that question for me (and many more) at the 2014 Critical Mass Annual Conference in Denver a few weeks ago.  It turns out that, through the marketplace, there are quality controls on all of the health care plans offered…plus, it is easier to shop in the marketplace where all of the available plans are there, side by side, for your comparison.

For a bunch of information from Triage Cancer about health care reform click here and for a great post on open enrollment and health insurance click here.  The Kaiser Family Foundation also has a ton of great information about health care reform and health insurance.

Ready to start learning more now?  In one of the great posts about health insurance on Triage Cancer’s blog, they define all of those pesky terms that make shopping for health insurance so complicated.  We’ve copied them here to help you start tackling that confusing jargon!

Remember, go to Healthcare.gov to start shopping around for the health care coverage that you need.  Open enrollment goes from now until Dec 15th….during this time you don’t need a reason to switch from the health insurance that you have now to a brand new, shiny plan.  If you have questions, there is a lot of good information here (also from Triage Cancer), plus, every state has someone you can call to help you should you encounter any questions or road blocks.

Not sure whether your preferred doctor takes that new health care plan you’re considering?  Call them to ask!

Fan of the affordable care act or not, without some of the reforms that have been made (like there no longer being pre-existing conditions or coverage limits) many of us who have dealt with cancer would not have health insurance at all…

Are you shopping for healthcare coverage now too?  We’d love to hear all about it!

 

Fine Print:  This post and all subsequent posts regarding healthcare coverage are meant to help simplify a very complicated process.  The authors of this blog are NOT medical professionals or insurance professionals.  All information and opinion given here is anecdotal.  Please do not replace expert advice from someone at your physician’s office as to what health care plan is good for you with the information found here.  Please do not replace actual medical attention with the information found here.