It's common knowledge that a health plan can protect you during a catastrophic event. But the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is designed to increase usage of preventive services and early detection, which can save you in more ways than cost.

Some providers are engaging in exclusive contracts with particular plans. This can be beneficial to a patient because insurance carriers are most interested in contracting with providers that are the most efficient and effective. The individual mandate requires that most Americans have health insurance in place to avoid a tax penalty, which will increase in the coming years.

You can now begin to enroll in a new plan. You can apply for new coverage, renew your insurance or change your coverage to a new plan or carrier. For coverage to become effective on January 1, 2015, you must apply by December 15. New plans that were effective during 2014 and many other plans will expire December 31, 2014.

You can continue to apply until February 15, 2015 for a March 1, 2015 effective date. After this time, you will need a Special Enrollment to qualify for any individual or family health insurance. Remember, you are allowed up to a three-month gap in any calendar year before the tax penalty takes effect. Our licensed agents can help you get coverage through the federal government's marketplace or directly with an insurance carrier at no additional cost to you.

In 2014, changes in how individuals and families purchase health insurance made enrolling in a health plan more confusing than ever. To the benefit of many, medical underwriting disappeared and individuals can now qualify for a health plan regardless of past medical history. Additional provisions were added to all qualified health plans including maternity, rehabilitative care, reduced Maximum Out-of-Pocket expenses, and prescription drugs from each major therapeutic class.

New aspects of health insurance

Additional coverage does equal additional cost; so, in response, insurance carriers began implementing new practices to make plans as affordable as possible. This includes using skinny networks, outsourced customer service, large brand name drug deductibles and wellness incentives. These are just some of the examples of new, and sometimes surprising, aspects of health insurance.

Adding to this, new rating methods are being used that lessen the effect of age and gender on premiums, but include income and tobacco use as factors in determining your premium. With the new landscape, it is more important than ever to have an advisor that understands these changes and puts your health and preferences first.

Platinum Group is a full service human capital management (HCM) resource that allows businesses to manage their payroll, benefits compliance, track time and attendance and other various human resources functions in a way that maximizes efficiency and eliminates redundancies with the platform, iSolved. For more information about Platinum Group or to schedule a demo of iSolved please visit our website.