The Obama administration yesterday unveiled
a shortened, simplified form that single applicants with no dependents can use to apply for health insurance beginning Oct. 1.
HHS pared the form down from 21 pages to 5 (including one page of instructions). The new form breaks the application process down to five or six steps. Applicants still must provide information about their incomes, though, so a certain amount of complexity may be unavoidable.
Still, some patient advocates are lauding the short form as easier to navigate and less intimidating, the
Huffington Post reports.
Individual applicants who don’t have health insurance through their employer will be able to use the new form to enroll in a health insurance program under the Affordable Care Act beginning Oct. 1. The insurance will take effect Jan. 1, 2014.
Married applicants with dependent children will have to use
a different form “to make sure you get the most benefits possible,” according to the form’s instructions. Alternately, all applicants will be able to apply on the website
www.healthcare.gov.