Durbin: Healthcare.gov Working Better for Illinois Families
Urges Families to Log On, Shop for Plans and See Real Benefits of Heath Care Law
Washington, D.C. – Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) said today the problems with Healthcare.gov, the national health insurance marketplace, have been dramatically improved and encouraged Illinois families looking for health care coverage to log-in, shop for plans and to see how they can benefit.
“The launch of the national health insurance marketplace was a disaster and left Illinois families frustrated, angry and uncertain about how they’ll be find affordable health coverage,” Durbin said. “Today, the website has been dramatically upgraded with hundreds of hardware and software fixes, increased capacity and improved efficiency. The new experience, while still not perfect, is a huge improvement. Families looking for coverage should give the site another look and find the benefits of the health care reform law.”
Since the initial launch of healthcare.gov there have been hundreds of software fixes and hardware upgrades which have vastly improved the site. The website is now operating higher capacity and efficiency with improved stability and ease of navigation.
Illinois Families Seeing Benefits of the Health Care Law
Despite problems with healthcare.gov, thousands of individuals and families in Illinois are signing up and seeing the benefits of affordable care.
Mr. K – Mr. K, married with two children, has been unemployed for over two-years. His wife, who is self-employed, insured their family through the COBRA plan costing them $1,700 a month. Mr. K reached out to health care navigators and found that his family qualified for Medicaid. With his family now enrolled, they are saving thousands of dollars a year in health care costs
Jessica – Jessica is a 27 year old musician and teacher and was able to sign up for a heath care plan using healthcare.gov. Jessica had a plan which expired and used the national marketplace to find a plan with better coverage at a lower price. Under her new plan, she’ll save over $600 a year and no longer face discrimination for pre-existing conditions or increased costs simply for being a woman. There is no annual dollar limits on benefits or dropping folks when they get sick. Her policy now is guaranteed to include mental health, prescription drug, and maternity coverage, which many policies lacked before.
David F. – David is a contract employee who was previously only able to have coverage through a group plan. Looking for individual coverage, David logged into healthcare.gov and had purchased a new plan within an hour. His new plan covers a previous condition and is more affordable than his previous group coverage.
Important Information for Illinois Families
- Individuals and families in Illinois have until December 23 to sign up for coverage for January 1, 2014 and until March 31st to get coverage in 2014.
- Individuals and families should visit Healthcare.gov at Off-Peak Hours. Mornings. Evenings. Weekends.
- Have your information ready. This includes Social Security Numbers, employer and income information and policy numbers for your current coverage if you have it.
- Find Local Support in Illinois. Visit LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov.
- If You Need Help – Make Sure you Call. Representatives are available to help using our call center: 1-800-318-2596.