HealthCare.gov Receives Upgrades Prior to Open Enrollment

Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act for 2016 is about a week away, and CMS has unveiled the latest improvements to the federally facilitated health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov. However, the agency was not able to complete all additional features in time, and will roll the remaining ones out after open enrollment begins on November 1.

Some of the new features include streamlined navigations; consumer-specific information and new information to help consumers understand where they are in the enrollment process and what steps remain; assistance understanding marketplace eligibility, type of coverage they qualify for, and how much financial help they are eligible for; and new decision-support features.

In addition, the site is rolling out a new out-of-pocket cost feature that can help consumers better estimate the cost of their health insurance based on their individual situation. Consumers will be able to estimate premiums, deductibles, and co-pays may be based on their anticipated healthcare service utilization.

Two of the features that have yet to be launched are a new physician search feature and a prescription drug lookup. These 2 features will provide easily searchable information about the doctors and prescriptions each plan may cover as consumers shop coverage.

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