Many persons are still confused and trying to log on to the Federal government's ACA website and getting nowhere. 

According to Daryl Steiner of Steiner and Granger Financial Services, no one needs to go to the Federal site unless those persons are ready to sign up for the coverage or want to do it totally on their own. 

“They need to do their research in advance before there is any need to go to that site,” Steiner told The Icon. “It is confusing and only leads to more frustration and provides you with no real answers.”

Steiner says most person simply need to contact an agent in advance and how the agent can assist them in the entire process, generating quotes, review the plans and PPO Providers and then even signing them up.

“We even have the access to the Estimated Premium Subsidy figures that lower income individuals may be available for,” he added.

Steiner and Granger provided The Icon with information to eliminate some of the confusion around the “Obamacare-Affordable Care Act” and the quoting of ACA Plans under the Federal Website.

Here is what they provided The Icon:
As you are aware of from the press, there are significant problems in accessing the Federal government’s website to even be able to view the ACA plans that are available for 1-1-2014.  You do not need to go to the Federal website in order to get an ACA quote. 

Even if you believe you are eligible for Federal Income Subsidy based on your income level, you can still get plan rates without going to the Federal website. The only time you need to go to the Federal website is if you are eligible for a Federal Subsidy and actually ready to enroll in an ACA Plan and calculate the exact subsidy level.

The easiest way to get a quote or find out about the ACA plans available to you is to contact your local health insurance agent. If your agent is Individual and SHOP Marketplace Certified through CMS/HHS, the agent will be able to provide you with quotes, advise on which plan will fit your needs, and walk you through the entire sign up process. 

Agents are not Federal or State “Navigators.” Agents are the only individuals licensed who can explain and direct you to the proper plan based on your needs. A “Navigator” can only assist you in the actual signing up of the coverage and can not answer or provide comparisons of the ACA Plans.

The approved Carriers for the Federal Individual Marketplace in the State of Ohio are Community Insurance-Anthem BC/BS, AultCare, Buckeye Community Health Plan, CareSource, Coventry, HealthSpan, Humana Health Plan of Ohio, Kaiser, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Molina, Paramount and Summacare. 

Most of these carriers are not household names, as they are specific to certain geographical areas in the State of Ohio. 

In addition, most of these carriers are HMOs, Health Maintenance Organizations, that require you to base all your care through your Primary Care Physician and if you are outside of that HMOs location you may not have any coverage. 

So you need to research what plan, HMO or PPO that your doctor or area hospital is participating in. Do not base you plan choice on simply name recognition or price alone, otherwise you may find out you have no providers to treat you in your area.

For quotes or assistance in working through this process, contact a local agent to assist you. Don’t go out just searching the web or you may wind up with a fraudulent website and get miss information. 

For assistance you can call our office at 419-358-8565 or go to our Ohio Health Insurance Exchange website at https://www.ohiex.com/?BrokerID=16