6 Months Before New Obamacare Plans Arrive, Consumers Still Don't Know What They're Buying

Few Know How Health Plan Designs Differ From One Another

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 2, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new HealthPocket consumer survey indicates most people don't understand the most fundamental change to health plan designs under Obamacare. When survey takers were asked, "How Will The New Obamacare Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum Health Plans Always Differ From One Another?" 86% percent responded that they did not know.  Only 4 percent selected the correct answer "% of medical costs covered by insurance" when listed among five answer options in the survey.

The Affordable Care Act creates four basic health plan designs to replace existing health plans and address the needs of most plan shoppers who are not enrolled in a grandfathered health plan, Medicaid, or Medicare. These plans are designated the Bronze Plan, the Silver Plan, the Gold Plan, and the Platinum Plan. All plans will share a mandatory set of insurance coverage features known as the Essential Health Benefits. The new plans differ from one another based on the percentage of medical expenses paid by the insurance plan, ranging from 60 percent of expenses to 90 percent of expenses. 

"Open enrollment for the new Affordable Care Act plans is only six months away and consumers still don't understand how the health insurance market will have transformed," said Bruce Telkamp, CEO of HealthPocket. "Education and community outreach efforts are going to be critical if Americans are to make informed choices about their healthcare."

Kev Coleman, Head of Research & Data at HealthPocket, and conductor of the survey, commented, "We're very excited to release the findings of our first consumer poll. Through our InfoPoll series, we help the consumer's voice be heard by the industry insiders and government officials shaping health reform in America."

The InfoPoll survey of 913 people was conducted between March 26 and March 31, 2013.  The methodology to acquire survey respondents who approximate national statistics on age, gender, and region was implemented by Google. See our InfoPoll to review the full findings of HealthPocket's survey.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130402/DC87313-INFO)

About HealthPocket
HealthPocket.com is a free website that compares and ranks all health plans available to an individual, family, or small business, so everyone can make their best health plan decision and save on their out of pocket costs. The Company uses only objective data from government, non-profit, and private sources that carry no conditions that might restrict the site from serving as an unbiased resource. The founders of HealthPocket.com spent decades pioneering online access to health insurance information and knew they could offer something different that can positively change how people buy and use healthcare in the U.S. Learn more at www.HealthPocket.com.

SOURCE HealthPocket

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