Deadline to sign up end of March

Your Health Idaho, the insurance exchange program for the state,held an enrollment open house at Portneuf Medical Center Saturday. Those at the event said insurance can be very complicated if you don’t have help.

“I think people would be pleasantly surprised at the experience today compared to what it was three months ago,” said Stephen Weeg, board chairman of Your Health Idaho, “compared to trying to buy insurance or navigate the health system was before.”

Insurance agent Lance Kolbet said it’s possible to navigate the system alone , but definitely is not advised. Kolbet said it’s important to get an insurance broker.

“A broker is not only going to assist you through the marketplace but they will also navigate you to a more particular kind of a product,” Kolbet said. He also said it’s not just finding insurance for you and your family that makes a broker important.

“There was a time when healthcare was not very complicated,” Kolbet said. “Today, not only is it very complicated, it could mean total ruin for a person if they don’t understand their contract.”

Kolbet said in order to get the help you need, you first need to project how much you’ll make this current year and then how you plan to file your taxes. Both he and Weeg said to be prepared to pay a bit more because of one thing.

“Smoking is huge,” Weeg said. ” So when they did they act, that was the one condition that was considered an exception. So the rates vary if you’re a smoker.”

But Weeg also said with the new system there are certain options to help you quit that own’t break your budget. And the same goes for those yearly checkups.

“The other part about all these plans this year is the number of preventive healthcare visits are now at no cost to the individual. So there’s no deductible or co-pay for some basic preventive health.”

The deadline to sign up for health insurance is March 31.