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Health & Fitness

Healthplanfinder.com - How is it working so far?

Washington was one of the fourteen states that decided to build their own Exchange instead of relying on the Federal Government to do so. The purpose of the Exchange is to provide subsidies for low income people. The secondary purpose is to provide a simple way to compare plans. How is it working so far?

People have been able to enroll but there have been glitches. There are delays, time outs and most recently when a plan is chosen, the subsidies don’t show up. Calls to customer care often have an hour average wait time or they have been asked to leave a message for a future call back.They are currently looking to hire eighty more employees.  People have been applying by paper but they may not know that it still has to be entered into the computer and can still run into glitches. Feedback I have received is the enrollment process takes about thirty minutes to an hour and is straightforward but you will need your tax return, birthdays and Social Security numbers of anyone who is going to apply as well as income from all family members, even if they aren’t applying.  Where people are running into trouble is choosing a plan. The site gives a very brief description of the plans and you have to click into the plan to get more information and then click back out. You can choose three plans to compare side by side.  If you know which plan you would like and you are sure of the premium in advance, then you will be able verify that you are getting the subsidy you deserve.

As far as being able to easily compare plans, aside from the layout of the website as described above, people may not know that there are many plans outside the Exchange and you don’t have to go through nine Federal agencies and the potential glitches to enroll. You can enroll directly in the plan of your choice. How can you compare plans inside and outside the Exchange? Contact a licensed Broker who can review your situation, make suggestions, look in your price range and follow up when you apply and keep you updated as plans and Obamacare change.

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Ken Williams CHFC CLTC CLU CHRS has been an independent health insurance broker for 23 years, works with all group and individual plans and is certified and trained in Obamacare.  His phone is 425 821 7914

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