GoHealth In the News: Page 13

If you select a plan by March 15, your coverage will begin on April 1. But if you sign up between March 16 and the end of the month, your coverage won’t kick in until May 1.
“We’re going to try to get people to enroll by the 15th at all costs because one month without coverage could be devastating to people,” said Mark Colwell, director of consumer marketing at GoHealth in Chicago, a web-based health insurance broker whose licensed advisers help consumers enroll in marketplace plans.

Many consumers remain unaware that day marks the end of open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act. “People are calling in, not knowing the deadline exists,” said Clint Jones, CEO of GoHealth.com, an online health insurance broker. And notwithstanding all the deadline revisions that have received so much publicity over the last six months, this one isn’t likely to change.

According to Mark Colwell, director of consumer marketing at GoHealth: “The difference between GoHealth and healthcare.gov is we have licensed advisers that are trained and certified. They actually will talk to a person about their health status: what conditions they have, what doctors they go to, how many family members they have, what their income is. They will look at all the information and recommend the appropriate plans. Healthcare.gov and the other sites don’t have the ability to do that because they don’t have licensed and certified advisers. Because of this, they can’t make any plan recommendations.

Americans have several options to enroll in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. The New York Times article explains the role of Web brokers in enrolling America. GoHealth.com, which has been signing up users for exchange plans with subsidies since November, is featured in the article.

Maryland’s troubled Obamacare marketplace is on the verge of becoming the first state-run exchange to partner with a Web-based insurance broker to sell subsidized insurance coverage, sources told CNBC.com Thursday. Brandon Cruz, president and co-founder of GoHealth explains the significance of the partnership and how it could change the way state insurance exchanges are run.

Federal officials announced Wednesday that Americans can keep health insurance plans that fail to meet the standards of the Affordable Care Act for another two years. But many people may not want to.Michael Mahoney, senior vice president of consumer marketing for GoHealthInsurance explains why.

CNBC features GoHealth’s partnership with H&R Block which makes it easy for people to sign up for health insurance when they file their taxes.
“But given that tens of millions of people get their tax returns done by H&R Block each year, ‘I think it could be very large numbers’ of people who enroll in Obamacare via referrals by their professional tax preparers, said Brandon Cruz, co-founder and president of GoHealth. He expects this will be more true in future years.”

After flying to Washington D.C. on a moments notice to be recognized by President Obama at the White House, GoHealth Licensed Insurance Advisor, Greg Merrity shares his story about finding work after being unemployed for nearly two years. Thanks to a partnership between GoHealth and Skills for Chicagoland’s Future, Merrity landed a job as an insurance advisor. In an article for the Chicago Tribune, Merrity was quoted, ” ‘I love it,’ he said of his GoHealth job. ‘It makes me feel relevant again.’ “

Women can enjoy new rights and protections under the Affordable Care Act. Mark Colwell, GoHealth Director of Consumer Marketing, explains some of the key benefits for women.

In the final months of open enrollment, Michael Mahoney, GoHealth SVP Consumer Marketing discusses the government’s progress to enhance direct enrollment capabilities. GoHealth was the first company to launch a direct enrollment process, which enables Americans to purchase a health insurance plan with tax credits through GoHealth.
Here is an excerpt from the article with Politico:
“Nearly two-thirds of the way through the Obamacare sign-up season, most insurers are still having trouble with direct enrollment of individuals who qualify for subsidies. Upgrades have been promised to the feature of healthcare.gov designed to facilitate this process, and carriers and brokers are trying to stay optimistic that they’ll come in time to help enroll a rush of applicants ahead of the March 31 deadline for 2014 coverage. “They’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s still a lot to do. We’re told all of the critical changes will be completed during this open enrollment period,” said Michael Mahoney, a senior vice president with GoHealth, a private online insurance brokerage that is selling exchange” plans (Norman, 1/24).