300+ FAQs Help Consumers Understand the ACA Marketplaces as Open Enrollment Begins

Ahead of the sixth annual Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period, the time during which consumers can shop for health plans or renew existing coverage, KFF has updated and expanded its searchable collection of more than 300 Frequently Asked Questions about open enrollment, the health insurance marketplaces and the ACA. 

Designed to help consumers and the navigators, brokers and others who assist them, the FAQs cover a wide range of topics including eligibility for subsidies, requirements for health coverage and information about health plans offered through state ACA marketplaces. The updated collection now addresses the 2019 repeal of the individual mandate tax penalty and includes a new section on short-term health insurance policies.

More than 150 of the FAQs in the collection are also available in Spanish.

The FAQs address situations affecting young adults, women, early retirees, immigrants, and people with job-based health plans. They also describe tax forms consumers may encounter, auto-renewing marketplace coverage for 2019, and tips for the self-employed and other consumers with variable incomes.

Open enrollment for the Federal and most state marketplaces begins Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018. Organizations assisting consumers are encouraged to link to the FAQ web page. Each question and answer may be shared individually by direct link, via Twitter and Facebook, and KFF (@KaiserFamFound) will be tweeting an "FAQ of the Day."

Other resources, including KFF’s animated video, Health Insurance Explained – The YouToons Have It Covered (also available in Spanish), help consumers understand insurance concepts, such as premiums, deductibles and provider networks. KFF’s Health Insurance Marketplace Calculator will soon be updated with 2019 premium data.

For one-stop access to these resources, visit https://www.kff.org/understanding-health-insurance, which will be kept up-to-date with KFF’s most current resources for consumers looking for answers about open enrollment, the marketplaces and health insurance in general.

Filling the need for trusted information on national health issues, the Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.