Health Insurance Marketplace

What is the Health Insurance Marketplace?

The health insurance marketplace term came into effect in 2010, when the US government made it mandatory for each resident to have some kind of health coverage plan. The insurance marketplace can be defined as entities or organizations that allow individuals to check and compare different health Insurance Coverage plans and invest in the best options. The residents started to sign up for health insurance from the marketplace in 2013. The enrollment period remained active for around six months. In 2014, more than 8 million people in the United States registered for the health insurance plan through the marketplace.

The main purpose of launching the health insurance marketplace was to provide people with a safe and cost-effective insurance coverage option. It also allowed individuals to choose the best plan after reviewing multiple options. It is important to note exchanges or organizations are not the insurance providers. They don’t have to bear any form of risk. In fact, the exchanges are only responsible for listing the Insurance companies that take part in the health insurance marketplace. The main job of the exchanges is to ensure that the insurance companies offer the best coverage plan to buyers. Overall, they make the process transparent and cost-effective.

Health Insurance Exchanges

While launching this program, Barack Obama mentioned that the health insurance marketplace will act as the one-stop platform for US residents for health insurance shopping. The individuals can check different health insurance plans, compare the benefits and coverage options, and choose the best plan. One important change the former president of the United States introduced in the plan was that no insurance company could refuse to reimburse the patients with a pre-existing medical conditions.

Exchange works as the public health insurance plan that offers a broad Range of coverage options to the users. The former president mentioned that this program can make the US’s insurance Market competitive and transparent. According to this plan, each state has to organize the health insurance marketplace. The states are allowed to collaborate and organize a multi-state exchange.

Penalty Conditions

The insurance companies have to comply with the regulations and standards set by the Congress government. They cannot ask the individual to pay extra for having a pre-existing medical condition. All health insurance operations have become quite transparent ever since the health insurance exchange started. The plan also made it mandatory for each resident of the United State to sign up for the insurance plan and get the basic coverage.

If they Fail to buy the health insurance, they will have to pay the annual penalty of up to $95 or 1% of the total revenue they earn in the year (whichever is higher). The government has also added certain exemptions. If the individual could not purchase the health insurance due to a reason that is covered in the exemption list, then they will not have to pay the penalty. The health insurance plan includes emergency medical services, surgery costs, drugs, and medical treatment, and other medical expenses.