FINANCIAL CORNER: HEALTH CARE COVERAGE SPECIAL ENROLLMENT Diahanna Val lentine , BCPA , Financial Network Manager In 2002 Diahanna and her husband received the news that her husband had MGUS , a precursor to Multiple Myeloma . Upon her husband ' s death in 2013, Diahanna immediately decided to make it her mission to help patients and caregivers empower themselves to speak up and to position themselves as partners in their treatment . Diahanna became a Board - Certified Patient Advocate . She is currently the Financial Myeloma Coach for The Myeloma Crowd Foundation .
One of the first things President Biden accompl ished since taking office was signing executive orders that wi l l begin to restore and strengthen Americans ’ access to affordable and qual ity health care . Let ’ s review what he has done and what that can mean for you , your fami ly , and / or your friends . Whi le you read this article , think of other people who you think could benefit and let them know . Just because most of you understand the need for qual ity insurance as a result of your cancer , others may not need it now but what if something happens in the future and they don ’ t have it ? No one expects cancer to happen to them , it happens to other people , Right ? The first executive order President Biden signed in regards to health care was to reopen the enrol lment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace ( healthcare . gov ). Many states that operate their own websites to enrol l residents in the healthcare exchange have fol lowed suit . This special enrol lment lasts from February 15 th through May 15 th , 2021. After a horrible year of the pandemic and the needs that have arisen as a result , this should be a huge step in bringing affordable healthcare to those who have lost their jobs and find themselves uninsured . The process is very simple and can be done via phone or onl ine . And for those who have an i l lness , this is very comforting because the previous threat to l imit access to qual ity and affordable care because of a preexisting condition is no longer on the table .
In addition , President Biden is directing federal agencies to reconsider rules and other pol icies that currently l imit Americans ’ access to health care as wel l as consider rules and actions that wi l l protect and strengthen that access .
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