Federally-Facilitated Marketplace Website Crash

Yesterday was the first day for the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace (FFM) to be open for business.  This is the place for millions of uninsured Americans to enroll for health insurance in accordance with the federally mandated law--the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or "ObamaCare."

Unfortunately, their website crashed yesterday, on Day 1.  It is now Day 2 and although they have made progress, there is still a lot of work to be done to resolve the issue(s).  I'm sure you're hearing about this website crash from all the news media outlets, social media websites, etc., and I'm sure some are postulating as to why this happened.  Regardless of the "how and why," there is one thing everyone needs to remember--these "glitches" will be worked through eventually.  

Please be patient; you have six months to enroll in a plan.  Consider visiting the Marketplace website in a few weeks or contacting a Licensed Insurance Advisor regarding any options through the Private Health Insurance Exchanges/Marketplaces available in your area.

Health Care Scam Alert

I received a notification recently from a reliable insurance news source that there are a group of individuals posing as Federal Government employees calling up people telling them they need their private information in order to enroll them in the mandatory healthcare insurance program. 

THIS IS A TOTAL SCAM!!! 

Please, please, please...Do not give out any private information--date of birth, social security number, financial information, etc.--to ANYONE who calls you wanting this information. THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS! 

MY ADVICE: Seek out a trusted and federally-trained insurance agent (such as myself) for any and all assistance regarding the upcoming enrollment. Please share this information with your family, friends, colleagues, etc. ASAP!

A Must-Have Book: "ObamaCare Survival Guide"

I know it's been four months since my last post.  My apologies.  I was being pulled in many different directions--joining forces with a work partner to write business, doing my taxes (boo) and reading everything related to Health Care Reform (HCR)--and couldn't get my schedule to work out to devote the time necessary.   Well, the tax man has had his day, working with my partner to write business is now on an even keel and fruitful, finally allowing me to schedule much-needed time for reading the mind-numbing plethora of information being hurled at us about HCR--all so I can put it in a format for you to understand!

When I started this blog, I thought the best course of action to stay current with HCR was through subscribing to electronic newsletters , scouring websites on a regular basis and attending seminars and webinars when possible.  This has turned out to be a smart choice.  I have gleaned quite a bit through these sources while waiting to speak to the manager or owner of a business or while riding shotgun to/from appointments with my partner.

Another smart choice I made at the same time was purchasing the Kindle version of a book written by Nick Tate entitled "ObamaCare Survival Guide."  Wow!  Am I on information overload with this book!  This is one of the best sources of HCR information--and it's in layman's terms for everyone to understand.  In my opinion, it's the foundation of which all other books, newsletters, seminars/webinars are being based upon.  This is an excellent reference book and I highly recommend obtaining a copy.   For your convenience, I have a quick link on my page for you to order your copy from Amazon.  You can order in any media format you prefer.

Over the next several months, I  will be using this book (along with my other sources) to educate you on different HCR topics, how they can potentially affect you and your loved ones and how gap plans are going to be vital in reducing your out-of-pocket costs.