Health Insurance Coverage on Jan. 1, 2014

Millions of Americans will have access to health care insurance by the 1st of January; many will have an improved coverage while others will have it for the first time.

Those who signed up before December 24th will be eligible for insurance covers from the beginning of the New Year. The card may not have reached the consumer but a call to the insurer will see you through in case you need to visit a doctor.

Customer Care in Health Insurance Industry
Health Insurance Industry is a service-oriented industry with customer satisfaction and customer grievances being important components of its business operations. Both the issues – Customer satisfaction and Customer Grievances have been described in the article in co-relation with the health insurance sector.

To fill in a prescription without the card you can check the insurer’s number on the website – at times the insurer will allow you to print a temporary insurance card. In case all else fails you can log on to the federal government website – HealthCare.gov and speak to a representative for help.

Consumers will pay their premiums online in the marketplace though insurance companies have their own rules. Trained representatives will be available all seven days of the week if you need help, for those who had problems even though they tried to enroll before 24th December they can be eligible for a special enrollment period.

In case of medical emergencies hospitals will always treat a person, but to lower future costs it is always better to enroll for insurance at the earliest. A person can enroll online in a marketplace health plan through the government healthcare site, on the phone or by taking the help of an assistant at the localhelp.healthcare.gov site. A person can compare private plans and choose the one that suits him and his family best; he may also be eligible for subsidies which can lower the cost of his insurance premiums.

Quiz on Health Insurance
This Quiz is to test your knowledge on health insurance in the U.S, there is so much activity with the new law and building of Health Exchanges – all peaking for a January 2014 deadline.

To make sure your enrollment is valid and complete – pay the premium to the insurance company by the due date, check the member card you receive and verify all the details. Review the provider directory to check the care provider. You can enroll until March31st for insurance.

References:

Health Insurance
This slideshow explains the concepts about healthcare insurance industry in India.

Hannah Punitha (IRDA Licence Number: 2710062)

BPT, December 2013

Massachusetts and Vermont Still Face Technical Problems on Their Health Insurance Websites
The contractors have to take responsibility for the malfunctioning of the web site which has led to inconvenience and loss of face for the administration.

Source-Medindia