Health insurers fielding many questions from patients regarding Affordable Care Act

Now that the Affordable Care Act is in effect, health insurance companies are getting plenty of questions from policy holders on how it affects them. Jeff Connolly, President of West Michigan Operations and Managed Care at Blue Cross Blue Shield, says that, first of all, if you didn’t get yourself a health insurance plan by now, you’re probably out of luck for a while.

“Your options are extremely limited if you did not,” Connolly told WKZO. “You may qualify for Medicaid, given the new Medicaid expansion in Michigan, so individuals should most definitely relook at the Medicaid options in Michigan. However, if you did not enroll, subject to very few exceptions, you’re going to be looking at January first 2015 to accept another opportunity to enroll in the Affordable Care Act.”

As far as those who did sign up for healthcare, Connolly says that preventive medicine is what customers should focus on. He tells us that the Affordable Car Act requires that certain essential services be covered, meaning cheaper options for patients when it comes to making sure they don’t get seriously ill. For example, he says everyone should take advantage of regular screenings for things like cancer in order to be sure they can avoid potentially costly ailments down the road.

Blue Cross has a place for customers to better understand their coverage at BCBSM.com . In general, Connolly says that patients should speak with their primary care physicians and health insurers about how best to manage their care now that they have coverage.

Health insurers fielding many questions from patients regarding Affordable Care Act