The Administration Launches Healthcare.gov

 

Americans now have a new way to compare health insurance plans. The Obama administration unveiled Healthcare.gov on Thursday, saying it will "help take some of the mystery out of shopping for health insurance."  The new website can be found here.

The health care reform law called for the creation of an Internet portal to help small business owners and people who aren't able to get insurance through their employer.

The new site allows them to sort through health insurance options and make side-by-side comparisons, but to actually price and purchase a plan, they still must click through to insurers' own websites. (In October, the site will begin to include pricing information.)

"The site makes a system that thrived on complication and confusion easier to understand," said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Read her White House blog post here.

Users answer a series of questions about their age, Zip code, job status and financial situation, and the site returns a list of options from private plans as well as Medicare and Medicaid and even nearby clinics offering low- or no-cost care.

The site includes data for more than 1,000 insurance carriers and 5,500 products, plus information on Children's Health Insurance Programs. Healthcare.gov also features a wide range of informational content on the health care reform law and its implementation. Kaiser Health News provides a Q/A about the site here.

(Not to be used for implementation purposes. This is intended as an advisory only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Consult a legal or tax professional for guidance.)