Out-of-Pocket Health Plan Cost Calculator Helps New Yorkers Sign Up for the Right Plan Before the 1/31 Enrollment Deadline

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- As the January 31st deadline to sign up for health insurance approaches, IMPAQ Health has released a new tool to help New Yorkers with chronic conditions choose the right plan: The NY Plan Costs Calculator, available at http:/NYPlanCosts.org. IMPAQ will also host a webinar providing more information and a use case walkthrough on January 18th at 2PM, with online registration here (see also Impaq International).

"With hundreds of different products to choose from, selecting a health insurance plan can be daunting for consumers, especially as many costs only show up after treatment and out-of-pocket costs can end up being much greater than just the monthly premium," said David Sandman, Ph.D., President and CEO of NYSHealth. "The NYPlanCosts Calculator is a game-changing transparency tool to find and compare out-of-pocket costs by different health plans and by different conditions-helping New Yorkers to make the right choice for themselves and their families."

Designed to help New Yorkers make more informed health plan selections, the NYPlanCosts Calculator is an easy-to-use website that provides out-of-pocket cost estimates by health plan for people with any of the 10 chronic conditions and life events that usually have high out-of-pocket costs: Bipolar Disorder, Breast Cancer, Diabetes, Pregnancy & Childbirth, Heart Disease, Hepatitis C, HIV, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Schizophrenia.

For people with any of these 10 conditions and life events, out-of-pocket costs can be high and vary significantly by health plan. For example, a fifty-five-year-old New Yorker with coronary artery disease shopping for health insurance in Queens county may compare silver plans with out-of-pocket cost differences of up to $3,000 annually.

New Yorkers need tools that help them compare health plans and make informed choices that are better for their health and wallets. To meet this need, the NYPlanCosts Calculator provides tailored out-of-pocket cost estimates to facilitate transparent health plan comparison.

IMPAQ Health engaged with New York Navigator groups to ensure that the calculator is user-friendly. "We look forward to using the calculator during open enrollment and beyond," said Elisabeth Benjamin, Vice President of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society of New York.

Support for the NYPlanCosts Calculator was provided by the New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth).

As consumers face with the difficult decision of which health plan to choose, the NY Plan Costs Calculator, at http://NYPlanCosts.org, can help. For more information, read our fact sheet and visit the project webpage.

Keywords for this news article include: Business, Managed Care, Health Insurance, Health and Medicine, Impaq International.

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