The HHS.gov site has a great feature, live chat, so I figured I'd ask a couple of questions.
First I asked about the form provided for employers to fill out for individuals trying to use the health exchange and whether that would require printing out and mailing in forms. This form is part of the application submission materials we're advised by the site to get together.
My second question was whether individuals who chose to use insurance other than an employer option who didn't purchase the insurance through the health exchange could then retroactively received a refund of the subsidy amounts they might be entitled to when they filed their taxes or whether only the traditional medical deduction that is available now for amounts exceeding 10 percent is available.
A few bits of information were provided, including that the Help person believed the form is only required for small businesses, which I'm not sure of, and that if any employer insurance is available then an individual must opt out of that insurance before using the exchange, which I was aware of. Honestly, but not very helpfully, I was informed that the law is still so new that it's unclear.
While information-wise this was not a real productive exchange, procedurally it did provide some guidance. First, while I didn't see it, so I couldn't do it, printing out any chat you have will support record-keeping which is going to be important. While I did not see an option to print out my live chat, if that option exists, I would recommend taking it so that you can keep a record of the advice you receive, since mistakes made on the basis of bad advice will probably be easier to fix than those we make on our own. If the print of live chat is not available,copying the exchange some other way and keeping it for your files would make sense.
The second procedural tip I'll give is that right now, there is very little delay in getting a response to the live chat, so that if you have time before benefits season, now might be the time to start exploring options.
Third, you can register for updates to come to your email.
