How to Buy A Private Health Insurance Plan

It is pivotal to understand your options and the specifics you need to be aware of when choosing a private health insurance plan.
Good health insurance protects you from astronomical medical expenses. 

The Affordable Care Act is drastically changing the world of health care.

On October 1, 2013 if you do not have insurance, you will be able to enroll to purchase insurance directly in the new Health Insurance Marketplace. 

It is extremely important to understand your options and the specifics you need to be concerned and aware of when choosing a private health insurance plan. 

Veer Gidwaney, CEO and co-founder of Maxwell Health, and Amitabh Chandra, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, discuss affordability, pre-existing conditions and what policy is right for you.

Additional Info

  • Segment Number: 5
  • Audio File: staying_well/1316sw1e.mp3
  • Featured Speaker: Veer Gidwaney & Amitabh Chandra
  • Guest Bio: VeerVeer Gidwaney is Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Maxwell Health. Named one of Maclean's Magazine 'Top 25 Under 30,' Veer is a proven entrepreneur and innovator whose energy and intelligence have long been devoted to solving the problems of our time. Veer co-founded and served as CEO of DailyFeats, the popular mobile app that motivates and rewards members to improve their health and well-being.

    Prior to co-founding DailyFeats, Veer was Director and Co-Founder of Humanity Calls, a fundraising tournament website designed to bring together non-profits, companies and individuals focused on addressing global causes. In 2010, Humanity Calls, in partnership with eBay, ran a successful tournament for the environment that resulted in donations to dozens of top non-profits.









    Amitabh
    Amitabh Chandra is an economist, a Professor of Public Policy and Director of Health Policy Research at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he also Director of PhD Admissions and Area Chair for Social and Urban Policy. He is a member of the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) Panel of Health Advisors, and is a Research Associate at the IZA Institute in Bonn, Germany and at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). His research focuses on productivity and cost-growth in healthcare, medical malpractice, and racial disparities in healthcare. His research has been supported by the National Institute of Aging, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and has been published in the American Economic Review, the Journal of Political Economy, the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Health Affairs. He is an editor of the Review of Economics and Statistics, a former editor of the Journal of Human Resources, and serves on the editorial boards of Economics Letters and the American Economic Journal.

    Chandra has testified to the United States Senate and the United States Commission on Civil Rights. His research has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, Newsweek, and on National Public Radio. He has been a consultant to the RAND Corporation, Microsoft Research, the Institute of Medicine and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation of Massachusetts. In 2011 he served as Massachusetts' Special Commissioner on Provider Price Reform.

    Professor Chandra is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine, the first-prize recipient of the Upjohn Institute's Dissertation Award, the Kenneth Arrow Award for best paper in health economics, and the Eugene Garfield Award for the impact of medical research. In 2012, he was awarded American Society of Health Economists (ASHE) medal. The ASHE Medal is awarded biennially to the economist age 40 or under who has made the most significant contributions to the field of health economics.
  • Length (mins): 10
  • Waiver Received: Yes
  • Host: Melanie Cole, MS