New Options for NC Obamacare in 2015
The annual enrollment period for 2015 coverage for NC Obamacare will be here before we know it…enrollment starts on November 15 and goes through February 15. In 2014 there were only two health insurance carriers that participated on the marketplace for subsidized premiums in North Carolina. In 2015, United HealthCare (UHC) will also offer a range of plan options to compete with these other two options. Since plans and rates for these three carriers have yet to be released to the public we don’t know a whole lot of information. We do know that the current two carriers plans will be very similar to what they were in 2014. We have heard that the plan options with UHC will be Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) based and will have plan options ranging from Bronze to Platinum. If you have used us in the past you will know that we strongly encourage a Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) based network over an HMO based network. A lot of times when people are looking over plans without a professionals assistance this may be overlooked because they are only looking at price. Some of the pitfalls of an HMO based product is as follows:
- Primary care physician (PCP) coordinates all care
- Referrals needed from PCP to see specialists
- No out of network coverage….must remain within the HMO. This is a high risk
- Limited choice of doctors in network
This is just a few of the issues that we have with the HMO product. You really have to evaluate your risk vs reward in choosing these plans and this is where we can assist you the most. We give you an unbiased opinion on the plan options and ensure that you fully understand you benefits. Best of all there is absolutely zero cost to you for our services!