Back when the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) was first passed, the federal government provided funds to the states in order to be able to set up their own Health Benefit Exchange websites to help supply information to the general public, as well as use them to sign up for insurance plans. Not all states accepted the funding, and some, like Florida, even refused to participate. As a result, some states’ exchanges are managed by the federal government and require accessing the government’s health care site in order to obtain coverage.
Luckily, here in California, that is not an issue, because our state took the time to set up its own Health Benefit Exchange. In fact, California was one of the first states to do so. As a result, people that want to learn more about their available insurance options, find out how the Affordable Health Care Act is going to affect their current plans, or sign up for the mandatory coverage, do not have to deal with all the issues or problems plaguing the federally-run site.
Just remember, that you are required to have an approved plan in place by January 1, 2014 in order to avoid paying penalties. If you already have existing coverage, now is the time to compare your current benefits with that of the newly created plans. Additionally, in certain situations, you may be able to drop your employer-sponsored plan when it does not satisfy all of the items required under the AHCA.