Choice of Health Insurance Plans Offers Customers Financial Relief, Flexibility
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 31, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance marketplace opens tomorrow. In the last year, lawmakers have made several changes to the laws and regulations affecting health insurance. From changes to the tax penalty to greater access to different types of major medical insurance, 2019 is shaping up to be the year of choice for health insurance consumers.
For the first time since the launch of ACA plans in 2014, in 2019 consumers will not have to worry about paying a tax if they don't have an ACA compliant health plan. They will also have options for longer duration short term health insurance plans that were not available last year.
Gavin Southwell, the CEO of AgileHealthInsurance.com's parent company, HIIQ, commented, "For consumers in need of health insurance, the elimination of the tax penalty and broadening of the maximum duration of short term health insurance is a double win. Consumers now have the freedom to shop outside of the ACA for health insurance they can afford without fear of a tax fine."
In adopting the federal regulation extending short term health insurance to terms of up to 364 days, renewable up to 36 months, states have taken innovative turns to benefit their citizens. Ohio has mandated short term health insurance cover mammography screenings and autism spectrum disorder services. Iowa requires longer duration short term plans to cover pre-existing conditions. In South Dakota, policies of longer than six-months are guaranteed renewable.
"These specific mandates reflect a movement to shape health insurance reform in a way that meets each state's unique set of needs," commented Mr. Southwell. "And it's something we should expect to see more of."
Last week, the Trump administration introduced a proposed rule which, if adopted, would grant states greater flexibility in pursuing health care strategies. While the ACA provides states the opportunity to seek a waiver under Section 1332, sometimes called the State Relief and Empowerment Waiver, they have been difficult to obtain. The proposed federal regulation would reduce the legal parameters needed to qualify for a waiver, enabling states to redefine, broaden, and revamp health insurance for their citizenry.
When asked about how the 1322 waivers will play out, Mr. Southwell said, "At least 40 states have already extended short term health insurance durations to between six to 12 months, demonstrating a commitment to finding affordable insurance solutions for their citizens so we should expect even more creative solutions from the various states using 1322 waivers."
AgileHealthInsurance.com was launched in 2015 to educate consumers on the availability of private market health insurance products that are alternatives to Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) plans. Today AgileHealthInsurance is the largest distributor of short term health insurance, providing a fast, online process for purchasing these plans. Short-term health insurance is a flexible and low-cost major medical insurance for individuals without expensive pre-existing health conditions. It is not Obamacare. Short-term health plans offer consumers the flexibility to choose health plans with the benefits that matter most to them and combine these benefits with broad provider networks. Additional information about AgileHealthInsurance can be found at www.AgileHealthInsurance.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
AgileHealthInsurance.com is a Silicon Valley-based technology company and independently managed division of Health Insurance Innovations, Inc. (NASDAQ: HIIQ). This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are statements other than historical fact, and may include statements relating to goals, plans and projections regarding new markets, products, services, growth strategies, anticipated trends in our business and anticipated changes and developments in the United States health insurance system and laws. Forward-looking statements are based on our current assumptions, expectations and beliefs are generally identifiable by use of words "may," "might," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue," or similar expressions and involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, our ability to maintain relationships and develop new relationships with health insurance carriers and distributors, our ability to retain our members, the demand for our products, the amount of commissions paid to us or changes in health insurance plan pricing practices, our ability to integrate our acquisitions, competition, changes and developments in the United States health insurance system and laws, and our ability to adapt to them, the ability to maintain and enhance our name recognition, difficulties arising from acquisitions or other strategic transactions, and our ability to build the necessary infrastructure and processes to maintain effective controls over financial reporting. These and other risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements are discussed in HIIQ's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as other documents that may be filed by HIIQ from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. You should not rely on any forward-looking statement as representing our views in the future. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
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SOURCE AgileHealthInsurance.com
