Be Careful When Signing Up For Health Insurance!
Here’s a true story about a woman who thought she was signing up for the ACA (“Obamacare”) insurance, but got scammed by a look-alike website. She Googled the Affordable Care Act and ended up on another website without her knowledge.
The URLs are designed to confuse, and you need to look VERY carefully at the URL of the site you are on. Make sure it’s .gov – that is the only way you will be on a government website.
Here is the proper URL: https://www.healthcare.gov/
Keep in mind when you Google anything, look for the AD in a small green box. This is where people have placed ads to come up at the top of Google pages. The ad below is NOT the real ACA government website.
Scroll down until you see the .gov website.
Other things to check according to the article:
Insurance quote websites are required to note that they are not affiliated with the government, though this detail is often in small print at the bottom of the page. The privacy statement at the bottom will give more information about who owns the website.
The ACA prohibits comprehensive health plans from basing coverage on your health status, which means if you had to answer questions about whether you smoke or have ever been pregnant, you’re on an insurance quote website where at least some of the plans are allowed to underwrite (denying coverage or charging higher prices) for health conditions.
Government marketplace websites allow consumers to compare plans without creating an account or submitting any contact information.
Healthcare.gov doesn’t ask for your phone number on its homepage so that an agent can call you. If an agent calls to help you sign up for insurance, it is a private broker.
Healthcare.gov has a search tool to help you find navigators (groups that receive federal funding to assist with enrollment) and brokers licensed to sell comprehensive, ACA-compliant plans.
Search by name in Pennsylvania’s insurance broker registry to see whether your agent’s license is up to date. Once on an agent’s license number page, click “appointments” to see which insurance carriers he or she has relationships with. If none of them are major medical insurance companies, your agent won’t be selling you comprehensive health insurance.
Write down the plan name and carrier, and check its status with the state Insurance Department online or by calling 717-787-2735. If the agent is reluctant to give you this information, that may be a sign he or she hasn’t been upfront about the plan’s coverage.
Get it in writing
Brokers selling insurance over the phone can be convincing and pushy — but you’re not obligated to hand over your credit card number right away. Insist on having the contract agreement emailed or mailed to you, to review carefully, before signing.”
Take the time to read the entire article here.
If you have any questions at all with regard to health insurance or the ACA, please give me a call. I am a Certified ACA Health Insurance Broker and can answer any questions you may have and help you find the insurance that YOU need within the ACA.
Jim Brassard
brassardinsurance.com