Family Voices Indiana

By Emily McKinley, Health Information Specialist We have entered the final month of Marketplace open enrollment, and soon the ACA application fury should be winding down. At least, we hope the glitches will be fixed and consumers will have active insurance giving everyone a bit of a breather from this hectic and, well, less than ideal enrollment period. So, before open enrollment ends, here are a final few tips and reminders. Open enrollment ends March 31. To guarantee coverage effective April 1, you must enroll prior to March 15. As a tip, if you do miss this deadline, try calling the insurer directly, requesting an April 1 active date, and pay your premium before then. The insurance company may be able to work with you but is not required to do so (and, may, in fact, be held hostage to the processes of the Marketplace). For those who have experienced technical difficulties and delays with regard to determining eligibility, a new  bulletin  released by HHS states that

Family Voices Indiana shares the following fact sheet from the  National Disability Navigator Resource Collaborative:  Rehabilitation and Habilitation Services and Devices C lick here for a pdf version of this Fact Sheet Click here for a pdf version of a 2 page summary of this Fact Sheet Q1. What do I need to know about rehabilitation and habilitation services and devices? A. Health plans available through the Marketplace must offer rehabilitation and habilitation services and devices as essential health benefits. These services speed your recovery after an illness or injury and reduce the likelihood that you will need to be hospitalized again. They also might help to slow the progression of your disability or enable you to gain new functional or communication skills. They also help to improve your health, strengthen your ability to participate in the community, and maintain function long-term. Equally important, such services can improve the likelihood that you can return

Family Voices Indiana shares this announcement from CMS: The Health Insurance Marketplace is now open, and open enrollment ends  March 31, 2014 . The Marketplace makes buying health coverage easier and more affordable. There are five categories of Marketplace insurance plans: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Catastrophic. The categories help you choose a plan that is right for you, and  all Marketplace insurance plans offer the  same set of   essential health benefits .  The categories  don’t  reflect the quality or amount of care the plans provide. The Marketplace category you choose affects how much your   premium   costs each month and what portion of the bill you pay for things like hospital visits or prescriptions. It also affects your total   out-of-pocket cost — y our expenses for medical care that are not reimbursed by insurance. These include deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments for covered services, plus all costs for services that aren’t covered.