USA Today reported this week on the outreach efforts on the part of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, including a new government
webpage (relaunched as a new website in June), training videos and infographics
to help Americans better understand the health insurance exchanges that will open
October 1.
See “A new website will help explain the insurance marketplaces, called
exchanges, where Americans will start buying health insurance October 1 under
the Affordable Care Act” at http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/08/05/survey-americans-dont-understand-insurance/2619007/.
The newly revised webpage is https://www.healthcare.gov/.
The announcement
came as HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a phone press conference on
Monday, and insisted that the exchanges will be ready for business by that
deadline. Keiser Health News reports: “Health and Human
Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a call with reporters yesterday
that the agency is "on target" to open new online marketplaces October
1. She also spoke about personal "Obamacare" accounts which consumers
can begin creating now in advance of being able to shop for plans.”
The website is intended to fill the void if what many acknowledge is a lack
of easy-to-understand information for would be enrollees. When they launch on October 1, exchanges are
expected to provide information on plan choices, plan benefits and premium charges.
The outreach efforts by
HHS also include the opening of a new call center for small business and the opportunity
for potential enrollees to create their personal accounts in anticipation of
the October 1 launch. CQ Healthbeat News
reported that: “Officials said that more than a million people have
visited healthcare.gov since the website was relaunched in June to begin
efforts to educate people about enrolling in coverage. The public can now
create a personal account and set up user names and passwords on the site so
they are ready when the actual open enrollment begins.”
The idea is that the potential enrollee who sets up an account now can learn
what information will be collected by the October 1 sign up. The site includes a form that can be used to
collect information from employers to complete the coverage applications they
will submit to the exchange.
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