Health insurance questions are big in our MyFixitUpLife. #GetCovered
It’s not every day I get invited to a meeting at the White House, and in fact this was my first invitation.
I was born in Washington, DC, and lived just outside of the city for the first few decades of my life, and was lucky enough to be a special guest of a girlfriend who worked for a previous administration. But even still, the magic of DC still exists. It’s where a lot of decisions are made, and health insurance is extremely important to me.
There were 8 of us invited to sit down with the Secretary of Health and Human Services Sylvia Mathews Burwell for a roundtable discussion about health insurance and the #GetCovered campaign.
Here’s what I learned.
Yes, you need to sign up for health insurance by December 15th, if you want coverage by January 1st. You can still sign up after the 15th. It will just delay the start date of your new health insurance plan.
Yes, the HealthCare.gov website is pretty easy to navigate. Just make sure to have your last year’s tax returns handy, because you’ll need to enter that information to see how much you financial help you could receive. I used the website and it was the easiest health insurance experience that I’ve had.
Yes, if you sign up for health insurance for 2017 through HealthCare.gov, then you will have health insurance for the entire year. The inauguration in January doesn’t affect 2017 health insurance.
Yes, health insurance could change in 2018. I asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services if the entire system could change in 2018. She said that there is strength in numbers, so the more people enrolled in health insurance, the harder it will be to change in the new administration. So, there aren’t guarantees for 2018.
Health insurance in kind of like the plumbing in your house. No one really thinks much about it until something goes wrong. And then, like any other insurance, it helps makes those surprises that life offers a bit easier.
Why health insurance matters to my family.
I’ve always had health insurance, and I have been buying it myself privately for about a dozen years. I’ve needed it more times than I’d care to share about. It’s an expense that’s worth it, because we can’t control the accidents and surprises that happen in the course of our lives. It just doesn’t matter how many miles I have run or yoga vinyasas I have completed or organic veggies I have consumed.
I have spent the better part of my last several years in-and-out of doctor offices and hospitals because of mistakes that a trusted healthcare provider made. And my concern for the healthcare of our aging relatives has grown dramatically with my dad, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and lived in a memory care facility for the last few years of his life. He died in September.
Health insurance isn’t just for me or my husband Mark, but it’s a financial savior when we are faced with medical bills and still need to buy food and pay for our home. We have it for ourselves to help give the best care for our kids, and to make sure we can afford it when life surprises with a healthcare provider who makes a mistake.
Life happens. #GetCovered
