EXCHANGE: New world for Idahoans

This week, Idaho citizens stand to benefit greatly from the launch of the state-run health insurance exchange, officially named, “Your Health Idaho.” The health exchange will offer 161 health insurance plans that we can choose from to buy coverage if we don’t currently have insurance or are dissatisfied with what we have. The exchange has individual health and dental plans, as well as plans for small business.

Since we’ll be able to compare plans and their costs easily, insurance companies will have to compete for our business in a more transparent way. The exchange will also help Idahoans understand the monthly premiums and how premium assistance can make coverage affordable.

What does that really mean for Idahoans? It means that many of Idaho’s uninsured families, will have protection from huge medical bills if an emergency occurs. In Idaho, more than three quarters of our uninsured are in a working family.

With Idaho having the highest percentage of minimum wage workers in the nation, it is understandable how so many families have nothing left to pay for health insurance. “Your Health Idaho,” is a step in the right direction to help Idaho families access preventative care versus costly ER visits and mounting medical bills.

CHRISTINE PISANI

Boise

(Pisani is the public policy staff for the Idaho Council on Developmental Disabilities.)