Much information has been coming out in the press lately about a variety of programs that are coming into play as the Affordable Care Act starts being implemented.
Members of the Baltimore Ravens NFL football team have helped market benefits of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) to consumers in Maryland. Some states have sent out personnel into communities to sign up people for health insurance on behalf of state-run market places.
Elsewhere, a variety of groups and professionals have been authorized to provide educational information about health insurance to consumers.
A new federal program on the scale of Social Security is being rolled out. Hundreds of questions are being asked and much misinformation being disseminated by opponents to the law that was enacted in 2009.
Unfortunately, in Indiana, we are not providing much official help to people who need to weave their way through the maze of questions and information necessary to move forward and be in compliance with the act.
Oklahoma, Ohio and Indiana have defaulted to the federal government to run their exchange websites and are doing no education or marketing about new coverage options, Kaiser Health News reported. Education is being left to private, non-profit organizations and insurance professionals.
Indiana has done a terrible job at implementing parts of the Affordable Care Act. Republican Gov. Mike Pence was one of the strong opponents to Obamacare when he served as a member of Congress.
Indiana is one of a few states that has not opted to expand Medicaid under Obamacare. Our state was granted a one-year extension of the Healthy Indiana Plan, which only serves about 10 percent of the total that could receive health coverage — 400,000 people — were the federal plan implemented.
Not only is Indiana denying health coverage to potentially thousands of people but our state government leaders are making little effort to inform the public about the act.
This work is being left to non-profits — like Community Action of Northeast Indiana — who are working through the federal program. However, not all of the groups that have stepped to the plate have received proper training. Some might not be approved “navigators,” as they are called, when portions of Obamacare roll out next month, which is the start of registration for health exchanges.
Luckily, CANI operates offices in all four of our counties, so their personnel will hopefully be able to send people in the right direction to get information about health insurance exchanges.
These approved navigators can show people information about health plans and their benefits and help consumers fill out applications. They can discuss premiums of the various plans. They are not allowed to provide information that would typically come from a licensed insurance agent. Insurance agents qualified to talk about the available plans can provide information, also.
If you can’t find help through an organization like CANI or an insurance agent, head to the library and get on the computer. There should be much information available on federal websites.