NEWS FLASH

New Tools Now Available To Ease Health Insurance Shopping | Starting today, new tools will be available for American businesses and consumers to easily compare health insurance plans and determine the best option for them. Under Obamacare, insurance companies and employers will now be required to provide consumers with a “Summary of Benefits and Coverage,” a brief standardized description of what is included in their policies. Consumers will also have access to a standardized glossary that defines complicated insurance terms in clearer, more widely accessible language. Before the health care reform law advanced the development of these tools, Americans often had to rely on marketing materials to make decisions about their health insurance plans because there wasn’t any other information available to them. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement that she hopes the new tools will provide “clear, consistent and comparable information” to help “empower consumers to make informed decisions about their health coverage options” when shopping for the health coverage plans that are best for them.