Under Affordable Health Care - Getting Aid may Prove to be Complex

The draft application for health cover, under President Obama's health Care overhaul, is about 15 pages for a three member family.

Three major federal agencies, including the IRS will examine the application; check on identity, income and citizenship with 21 steps.

As Obamacare wants people with low incomes get adequate help and health covers, the first part of the application clears up exactly where you are placed money wise.

The second part is where you choose a health plan, if you are not covered by your employer or Medicare or Medicaid, experts feel if the application is overwhelming the uninsured may just give up.

"This lengthy draft application will take a considerable amount of time to fill out and will be difficult for many people to be able to complete," said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, an advocacy group supporting the health care law. "It does not get you to the selection of a plan."

He wants the government to make the application simpler and employ counselors to help the uninsured.

"We are not just signing up for a dating service here," said Sam Karp, a vice president of the California HealthCare Foundation, who nonetheless gives the administration high marks for distilling it all into a workable form. Karp was part of an independent group that separately designed a model application.

On an average the application form will take approximately 45 minutes to complete. It can be saved and worked on with breaks.

HHS estimates it will receive more than 4.3 million applications for financial assistance in 2014. Because families can apply together, the government estimates 16 million people will be served.

One of the advantages of applying online is that you get instant verification. An online clearing house called Data Services Hub will check birth records, IRS for income and Homeland security for Immigration status.

Applying for independent health care is not simple as medical records and other issues need to be cleared. With the new exchanges it may be a simpler process.

One of the issues that will have to be dealt with is when your income or that of your spouse changes - there will have to be documentation before you are covered for health.

HHS spokeswoman Erin Shields Britt said that the y was trying to simplify the application.

References:

Hannah Punitha (IRDA Licence Number: 2710062)

CNBC Personal Finance, March 2013

Source: Medindia