In a recent blogging conference held in Chicago, Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the US Health and Human Services, was asking female bloggers if they could write about the upcoming Health Insurance Marketplace which will be opening in less than two months. For those who do not know, the Marketplace is a state-run website where people can compare and purchase health insurance, this was made to make sure that every citizen has health care by 2014.
The internet has always been people’s go-to source for information, which is why the government is now asking bloggers to tell their readers about the opening of the Marketplaces in their respective states. Come January next year, all citizens are required to have health insurance or else they will get fined. The Health Insurance Marketplace can help because it will provide people with a convenient place to compare different health insurance options from various companies, and then buy one that is right for their needs and fits in their budgets.
As of now, there are not that many Americans who know about the Marketplace; Sebelius even joked that there are more people who know the name of the new British Royal Prince (It’s George by the way) than those who know when the Marketplace will go online. Sebelius is hoping that by asking female bloggers for assistance so that they can help spread the word about the Marketplace to their readers. To convince the women bloggers even further, she reiterated some of the policy changes that are pro-women, like the one preventing insurance companies from charging a higher premium for women. With the help of the bloggers, Sebelius is hoping that more people will know about the Marketplace and get health insurance before 2014.
There are many people who are complaining about the PPACA (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) because they say that they cannot afford health insurance. The real problem is not that people cannot afford insurance, it is that they have a hard time finding them; a problem which the Health Insurance Marketplace will solve when it opens in October. With the help of the Marketplace, people will be able to compare and decide between different insurance providers quite easily, and find out which of them can provide the kind of coverage the people need at a price that they can afford; this will leave people with no more excuses for not having insurance.
