HCW Benefits Blog

Contributor:
Rob Krieg, JD, CEBS
Consultant
Hill, Chesson & Woody 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has made available an informative healthcare and health insurance website, http://healthcare.gov, that officials say provides helpful information about every Medicaid program, high-risk pool program, Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan (PCIP) in the country.

This online database includes data on approximately 1,000 insurance carriers as well as 2,030 individual health products and 3,531 small group products that are all open to new customers.

An insurance finder tool can help visitors find programs and products that might suit their needs.

The site also provides a hospital quality comparison tool and an explanation of the Affordable Care Act -- the package that includes the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The site does not yet seem to include information about health carrier premium increases or proposed rate increases.