New survey reveals nearly 60 percent of consumers are unaware they may qualify for financial assistance in pending COVID-19 relief bill
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – Mar. 9, 2021 – Today, GetInsured, a market-leading provider of SaaS technology for public sector healthcare, announced the launch of a brand new consumer tool designed to show Americans how much they could save on health insurance under President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The Health Insurance Affordability Calculator was created as a simple solution to help consumers understand the financial assistance available to them. According to a new GetInsured survey, nearly 60 percent of uninsured American consumers are unaware they may qualify for savings under the current proposal; and more than half of those who collected unemployment (55 percent) do not know that they qualify for zero-premium coverage under the new plan.
“At GetInsured, we are collaborating closely with all of our state-based exchanges to prepare for updates in their eligibility and enrollment systems once the American Rescue Plan is enacted, and we want to support their efforts to drive awareness about the tremendous savings that are going to be available to millions of people,” said Chini Krishnan, CEO and co-founder of GetInsured. “The Congressional Budget Office estimates by the end of 2022, coverage through the marketplaces could increase by 1.7 million — 1.3 million of those people are currently uninsured. Many of these people though, are not aware of the changes, or do not understand them. This tool is one way to help these consumers understand how their premiums will be impacted by these changes, and hopefully, encourage more people to seek coverage.”
Consumers can access the Health Insurance Affordability Calculator by visiting mypremiumsubsidy.com. After answering four basic questions including zip code, age, household size, and expected income for 2021, the Calculator instantly shows a side-by-side comparison of the cost of current premiums, and the new lower premium costs because of the additional financial assistance included in the American Rescue Plan. The Calculator works by pulling together real data on premiums and financial assistance for a mid-range plan sold on the federal marketplace or state-based exchange in the consumer’s geographic area. Then it estimates the amount of financial assistance the consumer is eligible for, based on the personal information provided.
“The fact that so many people do not know that health insurance will become more affordable underscores a need for this valuable tool, and the importance of consumer education,” continued Krishnan. “This is an urgent situation and I urge everyone in the industry to engage in a collective effort to get the word out to consumers.”
“From a user’s perspective, the Calculator has a very clean and easy-to-use design, with frequently asked questions alongside to help answer consumer questions,” said Heather Korbulic, executive director of the Silver State Health Insurance Exchange. “The flow is logical and it takes less than a minute to get an estimate”.
Once the American Rescue Plan legislation is signed into law, the functionality remains relevant as consumers begin to explore how the changes will impact their current and potential premiums. GetInsured plans on building this new functionality into its standard shopping experience for all state-based exchange platform clients.
“The goal of universal access to affordable and quality health coverage will never be more obtainable if the American Rescue Plan becomes law,” said Zach Sherman, executive director of PennieTM. “The resulting premium savings through Pennie and other marketplaces across the country will deliver much needed financial relief to the many Pennsylvanians and Americans struggling to make ends meet in the face of this crisis. The American Rescue Plan will allow those who thought health insurance was out of their reach to stay and get covered.”
“The Calculator provides a very convenient, simple user experience, that will help consumers understand the impact of the new laws on their premiums,” continued Korbulic.
GetInsured conducted an online survey in March 2021 among more than 400 adults ages 26 – 64 who reside in the United States. To learn more about GetInsured’s work with state-based exchanges and how it is striving to provide access to affordable health insurance for all Americans, visit company.getinsured.com. To use the new calculator visit mypremiumsubsidy.com; to learn more about the calculator and how to incorporate it into your site, contact hello@getinsured.com.
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About GetInsured
Founded in 2005, GetInsured’s mission is to enable access to affordable health insurance for every American by bringing modern technology to public and private healthcare delivery programs. GetInsured is an end-to-end service provider offering an ACA-compliant cloud-based SaaS technology platform, seamlessly integrated consumer assistance center operations, and implementation and project management services. Today, GetInsured is the leading technology provider for state-based marketplaces, and its roster of clients includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Nevada, California, Minnesota, Idaho, and Washington. The award-winning SaaS platform processes enrollments for 2.6 million consumers, which represents approximately 70% of all state based marketplace enrollments. GetInsured technology also supports leading benefit consultants, 8,000 brokers, and more than 200 carriers nationwide.