What is the Deadline for Enrolling in Obamacare?

mom with kid at doctorHopefully by now you have health insurance in place for 2016. If not and you’re enrolling in Obamacare, sign up as soon as you can.

It is currently too late to enroll in health insurance and have it be effective January 1st. Makes sense, since we are already a few days into January.

You can, however, still sign up to have health insurance for the remainder of the year. The deadline and absolute latest you can sign up for Obamacare is January 31st. And if you wait until that later part of January, your health insurance won’t actually be effective until March 1st, so keep that in mind. If you enroll in Obamacare by January 15th, your coverage will begin as early as February 1st.

So if Obamacare is your choice, enroll now. The sooner the better.

Curious about what Obamacare will cover? Watch this short video.

Want to know even more about Obamacare? Check out my book Easy Healthcare: Obamacare, available as either a paperback book or an ebook.

 

 

4 Ways Obamacare Has Helped Everyone

Obamacare SearchThe Affordable Care Act (ACA)–most commonly known as Obamacare–has remained a contentious topic since it started. However, there are some parts of Obamacare that help everyone.

Here are four of the most significant positive changes Obamacare is responsible for:

  1. Eliminating pre-existing conditions restrictions: Prior to ObamaCare, many people had no insurance coverage for “pre-existing conditions.” For example, if you had cancer or a complication from a surgery and then changed insurance companies, the new insurance company formerly would deny these type of claims saying they were “pre-existing conditions.” Because of this problem, many employees would not move to take a new job for fear they would not have insurance coverage for the things they needed. Under ObamaCare, this problem is eliminated. Now, an insurance company can no longer use this as an excuse for no coverage.
  2. Insurance coverage for your children through age 26: Before Obamacare, most insurance plans allowed a child to stay on their parents’ health plan until age 18, or a little bit longer if they were in school. Now young adults can now stay on their parent’s insurance until they reach the age of 26. Furthermore, the child does not to prove they are in school nor living with their parents.
  3. Life-time limits eliminated: Insurance companies used to have a “life-time limit” for each person who had insurance. If you had cancer or several different health problems, you could easily hit your life-time limit and would find yourself with no insurance coverage. Under Obamacare, life-time limits have been eliminated. Now if you have cancer that may reoccur over many years, you don’t have to worry about your cancer AND “using up” your insurance also.
  4. Preventive care is now covered: Did you know that prior to Obamacare most preventive medical care was not covered by your insurance? Historically, insurance covered you when you were sick, not when you were well. Yet preventative care often prevents you from getting sick in the first place. Without coverage, many people would not go for their annual checkups or their yearly mammograms. Now, under Obamacare, preventative services are covered. Every insurance plan must cover certain basic services so you no longer need to worry about getting a big bill from the doctor.

The debate will probably continue as regarding Obamacare, but some changes are beneficial for everyone.

HS-Book_Covers_OCaresmallAre you looking to cut through all the noise and find out what ObamaCare really is, what it does, and, most importantly, what it means to you? MyHealthSpin’s Easy Healthcare: ObamaCare ebook guide leaves the politics behind and gives you a straightforward, timely rundown of the changes the law made and whether or not they impact YOU.

Available for download NOW!

How to Choose the Right Health Plan

Last Friday we held our very first webinar on 4 Insider Tips for Choosing the Right Health Plan. Thank you to everyone who attended. We are thrilled with your interest and participation.

We received a lot of great questions and, due to time limits, we were not able to answer all of them. So as we promised, here are some of your questions and the answers:

1. If I signed up for Obamacare and am expecting a baby in May (after enrollment), how do I get my baby coverage?

ANSWER: Having a baby is a “qualifying event” under Obamacare, so you can add the baby when he or she is born. Generally, you will need to sign your baby up for coverage within 60 days of the birth.

2. How do I know whether to pick my employer-provided insurance or Obamacare?

ANSWER: If your employer offers you health insurance, you will not be eligible for Obamacare. You can only buy Obamacare coverage if you cannot get coverage any other way.

3. I’m turning 65 soon. When can I apply for Medicare?

ANSWER: You can apply for Medicare 3 months before your 65th birthday. Enrollment will stay open up to 3 months after your 65th birthday. If you do not sign up within that 7 month timeframe (3 months before, the month you turn 65 and 3 months after) you will have to wait until the next Medicare open enrollment period.

4.  If I change from Obamacare to my new employer’s health plan, can I ever switch back?

ANSWER: If you lose your job or for some reason your employer no longer offers you health insurance, you can reapply for Obamacare. Losing your job or your health insurance is a qualifying event under Obamacare so you won’t have to wait for open enrollment to apply.

5.  I currently have Obamacare insurance but I’m almost 65 years old.  Can I apply for Medicare and use my Obamacare as my supplemental insurance?

ANSWER: No. Once you switch to Medicare, you will not be eligible for Obamacare.

Please continue to send us your questions. We will be scheduling more webinars soon. I’d love to hear from you!

To learn more about your healthcare, please subscribe to MyHealthSpin.com and receive a FREE copy of my toolkit which includes 2 free eBooks and lots of great information. CLICK HERE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD