Cyber Monday and Open Enrollment

On Cyber Monday, millions of Americans are also shopping for coverage. Open enrollment couldn’t be more complicated. Here are a few examples:

• Consumer with an employer plan. Like 160 million Americans who are also covered through their jobs, her employer chose her options. The company offered two health plans from a national for-profit carrier. Of course, 2021 premiums were more and benefits were less than in 2020. She used the benefits portal to reenroll in the same plan because enrollment ended on November 30.
• Medicare-eligible retiree. Like 45 million Americans who are 65 and older, he had a choice between traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage. But he was overwhelmed with the dozens of combinations, including supplemental plans and prescription drugs. He hired a licensed broker to help him understand his options, estimate his costs, and make his choice by December 7 on Medicare.Gov.
• Independently employed couple. Like up to 20 million Americans, they were covered through the Affordable Care Act. Their incomes were such that they didn’t qualify for subsidies. They spent $2,500 a month for a high-deductible plan with the best hospital in town. They planned to reenroll on the insurance company’s enrollment site by December 15.

Americans who lost both their jobs and their coverage during the pandemic are exploring coverage through COBRA, Medicaid, and Obamacare, or going uninsured.

Open enrollment is also in November in Switzerland, and it ends on Cyber Monday. On one public exchange, many private carriers sell basic and supplemental plans to all Swiss citizens, who have to buy at least basic coverage. If it were only so simple in the U.S. In the meantime, these consumers are Mastering Health Insurance.