Shoppers on the federal Obamacare marketplace can get a sneak peak at the array of health plans offered in their area before they formally apply for coverage when open-enrollment kicks off on Saturday, according to an Obama announcement that outlines a much-needed “window shopping” feature on the website.
Officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said late Sunday that consumers may answer simple questions about family size and where they live to sift through insurers’ offerings and get an estimate of how much financial assistance they can obtain from the government.
“Using this tool, consumers can compare plans, covered benefits, and physician and hospital networks before the Marketplace annual open enrollment period starts on November 15,” CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said. “New features will give consumers a comprehensive picture of the plans in their area so they can choose the one that’s right for them.”
For months, officials have enhanced the website’s window-shopping features so that Obamacare’s second round of shoppers can review plans before taking steps to sign up.
Experts said the lack of window shopping contributed to the website’s disastrous launch last fall, when a rush of customers overloaded the front end of the system by signing up so they could review plans. About three dozen states rely on the federally run HealthCare.gov website, while the rest of the states set up their own insurance portals.
Some developers thought it might be a bad idea to let Americans see their plans and premiums before calculating their subsidies and true costs, but state-run exchanges that allowed window shopping tended to fare better.
Enhanced shopping tools are more important than ever, as a mix of returning and new customers enter the Obamacare marketplace. Consumers can automatically renew in their plans, but they are encouraged to shop around for better deals as more insurers enter the exchanges and subsidies fluctuate based on annual income and changes in the “benchmark” plan by which the tax credits are calculated.
The administration said last year’s consumers had to answer nine questions before they could see plans. This year, all they need is a ZIP code to look at plans and answer a few questions to get a sense of their subsidy.
Officials also said the website has been fine-tuned to work on smart phones and tablets, and enhanced their data sets to adjust premiums for tobacco use and offer more accurate cost estimates.
Open enrollment on the Obamacare exchanges will last until Feb. 15, although consumers must sign up by mid-December for coverage starting in the new year.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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