ObamaCare

Today, President Obama signed into law a companion bill to the bill that was passed almost two weeks ago. This has been called a 'fixer' because it modifies some of the language in the first health care bill which was written by the US Senate. This companion bill clarifies a few items from the first bill.

The first health care bill is over 2,000 pages long and it is going to take a long time for the business community and consumers to understand all of the changes in the health care delivery system for people not currently in government programs. Regardless of the good and bad in this new law, Stark & Associates will be here to advise the public and our clients on issues relating to health insurance for both the over and under 65 age groups.

Open Enrollment Period for Medicare

From January 1 to March 31 of each year Medicare has Open Enrollment. This means that folks on Medicare can make a change to their insurance, on what is called a like to like basis. Medicare beneficiaries cannot choose stand alone Rx coverage if they don't have it now. They are, however able to sign up for it if they want to drop coverage with Medicare Advantage plan that had Rx coverage included. Unlike the Annual Election Period, where people can elect Medicare advantage, Rx coverage, and make changes before Jan 1, they can only make one change at this time.