This post is a needed forewarning about health-insurance-coverage missteps that can pose serious consequences for the individual-insurance consumer.
Most consumers will have additional options to consider for next year’s coverage. So look carefully at premiums, but also at the plan’s benefits, referral requirements, and other rules—and at the plan’s network; many new plans will have narrower networks next year.
Until March 31, 2014, you could terminate COBRA whenever you chose to and apply for individual coverage. But—attention should be paid!—this is no longer true.
The Initial Enrollment Period will end on March 31, 2014. It’s always possible that the deadline will be extended, but if you don’t have coverage by then, you will most likely owe a penalty.
Today’s article discusses how Obamacare will impact those who already have coverage through their employers—as well as the many other workers who are now mandated to get group coverage from their employers. This post also addresses a current worrisome question: “Can my employer refuse to cover my spouse?”
This is the first in a series of articles by Maura Carley, President and CEO of Healthcare Navigation LLC. We’ve asked Maura to provide several posts that can help guide the readers of this site through America’s increasingly complex health-insurance maze.