HHS department revises insurance marketplace form
In March, the National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) reported that the draft Health Insurance Marketplace application ran 15 pages for a family of three, with some versions going as many as 21 pages. Responding to feedback, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released a shortened form that runs just five pages for a single applicant and beginning at 12 for families, NAHAM reports.
According to an article in the The Washington Post, the new form “essentially scaled back [the] draft application that could cover all applicants to one that covers the most common, basic cases of those who apply for insurance assistance. Different forms will be available for the more complex cases.” The form also includes a page of instructions and another page if the applicant wants to designate someone to help them. The revised form has won over groups who criticized the first version, such as Families USA, but there are some expectations that it will not be used much. A lot of the applicants probably will apply online, where information will be collected in a different manner. Others may use customer navigators who are tasked with helping applicants figure out which insurance option suits them the best, according to the Post. To access the Post article, go to http://wapo.st/100lQkn.
This action came in the wake of a poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation that found that 42% of Americans thought that the Affordable Care Act was no longer law. Included in the 42% are 12% that believe the law was repealed by Congress, 7% that believe it was struck down by the Supreme Court, and 23% that didn’t know the current status of the law. For more information on the poll, go to http://bit.ly/Zr7rxD.
Open enrollment for all uninsured citizens is set to begin in October, with coverage to begin in January of 2014.
In March, the National Association of Healthcare Access Management (NAHAM) reported that the draft Health Insurance Marketplace application ran 15 pages for a family of three, with some versions going as many as 21 pages.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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