Enrolled at Last

When I called the healthcare helpline on Monday, I was told someone from the Advanced Resolution team would call me in 2-5 days to try to figure out why I was stuck in my enrollment process. I had chosen a plan, but the confirmation button would not work. I was surprised when I received a call that afternoon. The lady tried several things with no success; she said she would do some more research and call again on Tuesday. She did notice that I had two applications, one done online by me (actually a second try) and one done thru a phone interview in November when the only help they had to offer people who were stuck was to take information over the phone to be submitted later. I explained the phone results which I received via snail mail had errors and would mean gathering up income verification documents to submit to an office in Kentucky; she removed that application.

 

I tried to log on to my application Monday night and all I got were blank pages; no information would display. I decided to wait until Tuesday morning and try again. Tuesday everything displayed OK and when I clicked the Confirm button, it enrolled me in my chosen health insurance plan. I assumed the lady I had spoken with had fixed something. She called around 11 a.m. No, she thought it was still not useable. She was pleasantly surprised to find I had successfully enrolled. Maybe removing the “duplicate” application helped.

 

The next step is to pay. I will probably do that the end of this week. My insurance premiums will be less than half what I currently pay. There is a Pay button on the online account. Maybe it won’t work, but since I have an enrollment number I can always call the insurance company for help.

 

It is a big relief to finally be done with all of the healthcare.gov web problems and be enrolled. I have a higher deductible, but some of the other fees for prescriptions for example are less plus I won’t have to pay for my screening mammogram next fall. I think it will balance out OK. My current insurance, the Indiana risk pool insurance, is a PPO. The new one will not allow for out-of-network providers except in extreme extenuating circumstances. It does allow going out-of-network for urgent care and emergencies. I only use Obamacare for one year. 2015 I will have Medicare and probably a whole set of different problems. ;-)

 

My new year is starting out well. I hope yours does as well. Happy New Year to you.