I Regret My ACA Experience While Preparing for Medicare—Here’s What Happened!

A Reddit user has had a bad experience with the Affordable Care Act.

Since both she and her husband are considering retiring, the couple needs medical care for 2.5 years until they can qualify for Medicare at 65. COBRA wouldn’t last that long, and staying on an employer’s plan under COBRA is often very expensive anyway, so she is looking to buy an individual plan under the Affordable Care Act.  She also needs the plan to be comprehensive because her husband takes several expensive drugs. 

Unfortunately, when she went to a website to try to see how much she would pay for health insurance, she provided her email and telephone number. The result was that she got 22 different calls in a day with people soliciting her business.

She regrets going to the site, and isn’t sure how she should proceed and whether she should work with a broker to help her find a policy or look around for her own coverage. 

How to sign up for an ACA plan the right away

The mistake that the Reddit user made was going to a website that was not the official site where you can shop for insurance plans. She chose a site that looked like it was an official website for the ACA but that was actually designed just to gather customer information for sales calls. 

The poster and other insurance buyers can avoid this type of error in the future by going to the actual Healthcare.gov site to shop around for plans. She can do this any time since leaving a job is a qualifying life change that entitles you to sign up for coverage outside of open enrollment.

Healthcare.gov has tools and screeners that allow you to narrow down plans based on your coverage needs. It’s pretty simple to navigate and to see the cost of plans after subsidies are applied (if applicable). However, it can sometimes still be confusing to figure out what policies are best if you don’t have a deep understanding of how to buy private health insurance. 

Getting help finding an ACA plan can sometimes make sense

If the Reddit poster feels confused and overwhelmed by the plan options when she goes to the official Healthcare.gov site, it may make sense for her to get professional advice.

A financial advisor can help her determine what kinds of coverage she needs, how much she should budget for care, and what to look for when exploring her insurance options. The Affordable Care Act had also created a navigator program where qualified professionals could offer help finding coverage, but unfortunately, funding for that program has been slashed, so there may be few opportunities for assistance from a navigator available. 

Health insurance brokers do still exist that help you navigate the marketplace, but you’d need to research carefully to find the right one, as some just want to sell you on the products that give them the most commission and may not necessarily be looking out for your best interests. 

A certified fee-only financial advisor may be a better resource since you can trust that their primary goal is helping you to make the financial choices that are right for you.