Trying to find the best insurance coverage that meets your healthcare needs and won’t break your wallet? This can be a daunting task. Therefore, the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) offers basic tips to compare plans offered in the health insurance marketplaces to ensure you are receiving the healthcare services and medications you need to stay healthy. Our Kidney Health Insurance Worksheet is designed to empower you to identify which healthcare services and medications you need and to compare plans that offer coverage of those services at the lowest cost. This sheet will help you determine the real costs you will have to pay for your healthcare that go beyond your monthly premium price tag.
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) established health insurance marketplaces that offer online shopping for those who are unable to get insurance through an employer or government program. The marketplaces have many benefits, including providing you with options for coverage, evaluating whether you can receive a subsidized health insurance plan and determining if you are eligible for a public program like Medicaid. However, if you are looking to buy a marketplace plan or determine whether you should switch plans in the coming year, the options can be overwhelming. Most states have trained experts available to help you navigate your options. Visit healthcare.gov or your state’s marketplace website to find a trained representative in your local community. Of course, these representatives are unlikely to be familiar with your health needs, so taking the Kidney Health Insurance Worksheet with you when you meet with a representative will be helpful in finding a plan that best meets your needs.
Remember, open enrollment ends February 15th! If you want coverage by January 1st, you will need to choose your plan by December 15th.
Read our last post in this series about the top 6 things kidney patients need to know about open enrollment in the health insurance marketplace here.
If you have questions on how to use this worksheet, please feel free to contact us at nkfadvocacy@kidney.org.
Advocacy in Action 
When I was recently shopping for insurance, one plan on the marketplace website appealed to me because it listed all imaging as free. However, when I called the provider to verify, it was only xrays that were free; they blamed the error on whoever set up the marketplace. Lesson learned: verify that benefits important to you are actually offered under that plan before you sign up!
Pingback: Open Enrollment for 2016 Health Coverage Has Officially Begun | Advocacy in Action