Marketplace sign-ups running ahead of pace for same period last year

Sign-ups for health plans on the Federal Marketplace are running ahead of the same time last year.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) said that 69,000 more individuals had signed up for 2017 plans through the first 12 days of the signup period, compared to the same 12 days in the 2016 sign-up period.

Included were more than a million plan selections.

Some have asked us, at Affordable Healthcare Pros, if there would be any change this year with the results of the election that put Republican Donald Trump in the White House. The answer is NO. There cannot be changes this year because sign-ups have already started and will continue through Jan. 31, 2017.

Trump, last week on 60 Minutes, indicated he was inclined to keep key parts of the plan – not allowing discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and allowing those children under 26 to be part of their parents’ plan. Trump vowed to improve the program and make it better and less costly.

They realize they can’t just cancel the program and leave 20 million new registrants without insurance.

Once Trump gets into the White House expect him and his Republican-dominated House and Senate to start working on a plan that will likely become known as “TrumpCare.”

In the meantime, sign-ups continue. Jack Childress and myself are working on plans daily during the sign-up period and are helping existing and new customers.

Something to keep in mind is that we must put a plan through by Dec. 15 to have it be effective on Jan. 1. Those signing up between Dec. 16 and Jan. 15 will have a start date of Feb. 1, 2017 and those signing up from Jan. 16-31 will have a start date of March 1, 2017.

To avoid a penalty for not having creditable coverage, you need to be insured for at least nine months of the year.

A reminder that the Annual Enrollment Period (AEP) is also in effect through Dec. 7. It is a time to renew your Part D drug coverage, if you are on Standard Medicare, or change Medicare Advantage plans, if you are on Part C Medicare Advantage.

Affordable Healthcare Pros can help you with all aspects of Medicare – including Medicare supplements with 11 different companies to choose from. We can also help you get a Medicare Advantage plan, if your budget cannot allow payment for a Medicare Supplement.

Regardless of whether you have Standard Medicare or Medicare Advantage, you must have Part B and be paying a Part B Premium. If you have any questions about Medicare, give me a call at 775-224-7169.

You can also call me or Jack Childress at our office at 2307 N. Carson St. Our office number is 775-883-3414.

There is no charge for our services.

Ron Bliss is a former long-time sports writer who has been doing health and life insurance since 2009. He is certified on both Covered California and the Nevada Health Link and can sell products on and off both exchanges. Affordable Healthcare Pros also offers a variety of dental plans to include dental-vision-hearing plans in both states, as well as a wide variety of Medicare supplements and other health supplemental products to include critical illness, disability, plans to cover in-home or nursing home costs, accidents and hospital indemnity policies. He can also give you the choice of a number of Life Insurance carriers, including those who offer Long-Term Care riders.