To see what a health care website landing page should look like, visit The Health Sherpa.
It's like Google – a clear, uncluttered place to start your research. Type in your zip code.
The health care website is meant for people who don't have insurance. They are likely to be young and stretched for the money to pay premiums. Many are likely to be below-average in computer-savviness or familiarity with bureaucracy. So the site should be super-simple.
We know what we actually have been given by the national system and many state systems -- a nest of options, slow response times ending with no response at all.
This being the USA, however, three people have created thehealthsherpa.com to provide simple access to what people need to know, which is the availability of options in their area.
Unfortunately, thehealthsherpa.com doesn't yet have access to the NY State data (see below) so the site doesn't work yet for us in this state.
A possible danger with independent sites that offer better access to healthcare data than existing exchanges is that scammers are operating in the same space. A sample story is that of a self-proclaimed good Samaritan who charged a baffled health insurance searcher $100 and then walked off with the person's Social Security number, bank information etc.
Consumers should be warned not to provide sensitive personal data until they are sure they are on an official site.
Meanwhile, here is what I got when I went to thehealthsherpa.com and gave them my NYC zip code.
It's like Google – a clear, uncluttered place to start your research. Type in your zip code.
The health care website is meant for people who don't have insurance. They are likely to be young and stretched for the money to pay premiums. Many are likely to be below-average in computer-savviness or familiarity with bureaucracy. So the site should be super-simple.
We know what we actually have been given by the national system and many state systems -- a nest of options, slow response times ending with no response at all.
This being the USA, however, three people have created thehealthsherpa.com to provide simple access to what people need to know, which is the availability of options in their area.
Unfortunately, thehealthsherpa.com doesn't yet have access to the NY State data (see below) so the site doesn't work yet for us in this state.
A possible danger with independent sites that offer better access to healthcare data than existing exchanges is that scammers are operating in the same space. A sample story is that of a self-proclaimed good Samaritan who charged a baffled health insurance searcher $100 and then walked off with the person's Social Security number, bank information etc.
Consumers should be warned not to provide sensitive personal data until they are sure they are on an official site.
Meanwhile, here is what I got when I went to thehealthsherpa.com and gave them my NYC zip code.
New York State: We're Working On It
New York has their own healthcare exchange, and hasn't shared that data with us yet. We are working around the clock to import their data from state records.
If you'd like to be notified when we add NY plans, you can sign up for our email list below.
In the meantime, you can find and compare plans on New York's exchange.
Visit NY Exchange
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