Obamacare Key Dates
Jan 1 : As of the first of the year, consumers who bought insurance plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace by the deadline last month and have also made their first monthly premium payment should be covered.
Jan. 10 : Many insurance companies, though not all, have extended the deadline for consumers to make their first premium payment until Jan. 10.
March 31 : Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace will continue through this date. Only people who meet certain special criteria will be able to enroll in or switch plans outside of the set open enrollment period.
Coverage checklist
Think you’re now covered?
Double check. Call your insurance company to make sure you are now in their system and find out when your first premium payment is due.
Headed to the doctor for a check-up?
Make sure your doctor is included in your new plan’s network. Also, be sure to bring your insurance card or temporary card with you to your first visit. If you don’t have your card yet, ask your insurer to give you another way to confirm your coverage.
Having trouble getting in touch with your insurer directly?
Call the Health Insurance Marketplace call center at 1 (800) 318-2596. Representatives are available 24 hours a day.
A $1,500 broken foot. A $1,200 bee sting allergic reaction.
Julie and Danny Thiets have struggled to pay unexpected medical bills since opening their own small business nine years ago. The Decatur couple has only been able to afford a bare-bones policy with a $6,000 deductible that had to be met before it would even cover a visit to the doctor’s office. Until now.
Starting this week, after months of website problems and political finger-pointing, coverage is finally in effect for consumers who bought health plans through the Health Insurance Marketplace — a key element of the Affordable Care Act.
For the Thiets, both in their 50s, it means no longer putting off preventive care. It means paying more than $300 a month less in premiums because they qualify for a federal tax credit. The new plan has smaller deductibles and better coverage than their old one too.
“I’m just over the moon,” Julie Thiets said. “I feel like we won the lottery.”
More than 2.1 million Americans have enrolled in health plans through the Obamacare marketplace since HealthCare.gov's disastrous rollout on Oct. 1. Enrollment surged last month following the site's relaunch, but it's unclear how many people nationwide actually made their first premium payment so coverage could kick in by Jan. 1. The Obama administration is working to make sure those who enroll know to contact their insurance company to make sure their coverage begins, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.
In Georgia, more than 5,200 people have enrolled in coverage, but only 741 have paid the first month’s premium, according to the state Department of Insurance. Many insurance companies, though not all, have extended the deadline for the first payment until Jan. 10.
There may be some unexpected problems as people transition to the new plans, White House senior advisor Phil Schiliro told reporters during a conference call this week.
“We’ve been working very closely with insurers, with pharmacies, with doctors, so there is as little disruption as possible,” Schiliro said. “We have to work hard to make sure the next few days go well.”
Roughly 900,000 Georgians are eventually expected to shop on the marketplace — nearly three-quarters of whom may qualify for federal tax credits. The marketplace is aimed mostly at people who don’t get coverage through work, the unemployed, early retirees and consumers who buy their own insurance on the individual market.
While many Georgians like the Thiets stand to benefit from Obamacare, others say the law is to blame for increasing their premiums. Some are also finding that their current insurance plans don’t meet new standards created by the Affordable Care Act — forcing them to get more comprehensive coverage that is in many cases more expensive.
Federal officials say that a national hotline to help consumers with cancelled plans has received 2,400 calls since it was set up in mid-December.
The number of people gaining new insurance coverage far surpasses those getting cancellation notices, said Julie Bataille, head of communications for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Bataille did not give specific numbers.
Workers at Southside Medical Center in Atlanta have helped at least a couple of hundred people enroll in coverage through the marketplace, though there’s no way to know how many have paid their first premium, said Ramona Mills, the center’s head of outreach and enrollment. While the process needs to be better tracked, the technical troubles with the website have improved.
“It’s a major improvement from where we started,” Mills said. “I’m just trying to embrace it and stay positive.”
Lisa Ryan was one of the few Georgians able to sign up in the first week or so that HealthCare.gov went live.
The Decatur resident, who suffers from chronic pain and is on disability, said she was priced out of the insurance market when her insurer raised her monthly premium to more than $1,500. Under Obamacare, she is now paying $167 a month for medical and dental coverage after her federal tax credit was factored in, she said.
Ryan said she already has appointments with her internist, a pain management specialist and a neurologist.
“I only want the chance for a level playing field and access to the specialists I need to stay alive,” she said.
Next on her list: the dentist.
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