A Fun Way to Help People Make a Serious Health Insurance Decision

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National Patient Organization Releases New Interactive Tool and Spanish Guide

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Oct 06, 2015, 03:37 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2015 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ -- People buying or renewing their health insurance through the exchanges will be able to begin picking a plan for 2016 in less than a month. Which plan they choose could make a big difference in how much or how little they spend on health care next year.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150917/267578

To help people shop wisely for health insurance that meets both their health and budget needs, the National Health Council has created an interactive game at puttingpatientsfirst.net/explore_my_options to show how unexpected life experiences – a broken leg, a serious car crash, an unexpected medical diagnosis, even a shark attack (!) – can affect their health costs.

Visitors to the website spin a wheel to explore how unexpected life events affect the number of doctor visits, hospitalizations, and medications a person may need in a year. A chart appears listing how annual out-of-pocket costs vary depending on the scenario and whether a person has a bronze, silver, gold, or platinum health plan.

The game is a fun way to learn how to avoid costly mistakes when selecting health insurance.

PuttingPatientsFirst.net also includes a personalized out-of-pocket calculator where people can put in their own unique health information and generate a customized report showing how the different types of plans offered in their state affect their out-of-pocket costs. In addition, the report now comes with a How-To Guide in both English (http://bit.ly/1OHGNLc) and Spanish (http://bit.ly/1LooQ0U), which explains what to consider when picking a health insurance plan.

Shopping for health insurance is serious business. PuttingPatientsFirst.net adds a little bit of fun to the process and is the perfect first step to understanding health insurance options in each state.

About the NHC – www.nationalhealthcouncil.org

Founded in 1920, the National Health Council (NHC) is the only organization that brings together all segments of the health community to provide a united and effective voice for the more than 133 million people living with chronic diseases and disabilities and their family caregivers. Made up of more than 100 national health-related organizations and businesses, its core membership includes the nation's leading patient advocacy organizations, which control its governance.