HealthWise: Answers to your questions about health insurance law

Feb. 25--Q: How do I find out the cost per month and the deductible before I commit? -- T.C., Fayetteville

A: As HealthCare.gov was upgraded after the launch of the health insurance marketplace, a feature was added that allows customers to preview available plans and premium estimates before signing up for an account.

Customers must provide information about their age, location and income to find plans available locally and estimate premiums and subsidies. This process, however, is separate from the actual application for coverage.

To preview plans in your area, go to HealthCare.gov and click "See plans before I apply." Or, go to healthcare.gov/find-premium-estimates.

Q: I signed up on HealthCare.gov and was asked to send copies of my birth certificate and paycheck stub. Is this right? -- M.W., Spring Lake

A: If consumers submit information on a marketplace application that doesn't match what the federal government has on file, they may be asked to provide more documentation, including verifying their identity and income.

HealthCare.gov has a guide to help consumers protect themselves from fraud. Any requested documentation, it says, should be sent to the following address: Health Insurance Marketplace, 465 Industrial Blvd., London, KY 40750-0001. You should not mail documentation to any other address.

Sometimes, a customer service representative will call after customers completed the online application, according to the guide. These representatives may call to verify a customer's identity, the last four digits of a Social Security number (or entire number if it wasn't included in the application), or verify income and employment information. They will not ask for personal financial information, such as a bank name or account number.

Any such caller should inform the customer that they are calling from the marketplace and provide his full name and ID number. The guide recommends writing this information down. Calls from the marketplace should appear on caller ID systems in one of the following ways: Health Insurance MP, 606-260-4191, 479-877-3203, 636-698-6320 or 580-354-7707.

For more information on how to protect personal information, go to healthcare.gov/how-can-i-protect-myself-from-fraud-in-the-health-insurance-marketplace.

Q: I'm on Medicare, and I buy my own 20percent plan. It's expensive. Where can I get help? -- G.D., Maxton

A: The health insurance marketplace does not provide help purchasing Medicare plans, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services provides information on Medicare Supplement Insurance at Medicare.gov, including a "Medigap Policy Search" at medicare.gov/find-a-plan/questions/medigap-home.aspx.

North Carolina residents can also find information about Medigap plans and other Medicare-related questions through the N.C. Department of Insurance's Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program, or SHIIP. You can reach counselors between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. by calling 800-443-9354.

SHIIP also provides an online premium comparison feature for North Carolina Medicare Supplement Insurance at ncdoi.com/medisupp/Search_new.asp.

Staff writer Paige Rentz can be reached at [email protected] or 486-2728.

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