What is a healthcare.gov account good for?

November 28, 2020 11:11 PM

I recently helped my parents navigate Medicare Supplemental coverage using a health insurance marketplace -- and somehow Healthcare.gov obtained our email addresses in this sign-up process. Is there a reason to setup a Healthcare.gov account after enrolling in a Medigap plan that has its own website and login? Healthcare.gov continues to pester us with pleas to register as a user before the mid-December deadline -- but is this an actual useful account to create? Does anyone have an account -- and what does it actually do (if you have insurance already via a different insurance marketplace)?
posted by mhh5 to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

Best answer: My husband is on Medicare and a supplement insurance and he does not have a Healthcare.gov account. I am on aca and they require me to have a Healthcare.gov account where I sign in and it transfers me to my states website where I am also required to have an account
If that helps
posted by cda at 11:23 PM on November 28, 2020

Best answer: When I applied for government healthcare after my job went away, I set up an account and eventually selected a plan. I don't think I used the account again until this year, when I will once again pick something out. So, I only use the account once a year.
posted by Rumi'sLeftSock at 6:47 AM on November 29, 2020

Response by poster: Thanks cda and R'sLeftSock! I just wanted to make sure we weren't missing out on anything without an account. The pestering emails so far make it vaguely sound like an account is required, but I think it's only necessary if you use healthcare.gov to pick your plan every year.
posted by mhh5 at 10:23 AM on November 29, 2020

Best answer: I’ve been on Marketplace plans from its inception, and have had an account since day-1. What’s handy is the ability to view and compare multiple policies available to you in one place. It’s also the place to go to make any changes to a policy (income changes, job loss, etc.) It’s just been a handy one-stop-shop for health insurance shopping. I’ve also been quite pleased with the customer service people whenever I’ve had need to call.

The pestering calls and emails are auto-generated, since they system doesn’t see that you’ve committed to a policy. Think of it as them wanting to make sure you get healthcare.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:54 PM on November 29, 2020 [1 favorite]