Consumer groups cheer arrival of online health insurance menu

The White House on Thursday launched one of the earliest and most tangible reforms found in the Democrats' new healthcare law: a Web-based menu allowing consumers to one-stop shop for health insurance.

The effort is a work in progress: cost estimates for the private plans, for instance, won't be posted until October. Still, Democratic leaders and consumer advocates are cheering the development, arguing that it will empower consumers to find the health coverage best suited to individual needs.

"Before you make decisions, you need to know what your options are," Kathleen Sebelius, head of the Health and Human Services Department, said Thursday during the program's launch. "And too many Americans have no idea."

The arrival of the Web tool comes as Republicans are attacking the new health reform law on all fronts, hoping that their near-unanimous opposition to the bill will pay dividends with voters in November. Democrats, though, have hardly shied away from ownership of the reforms. Instead, they've trumpeted the arrival of every new benefit that comes along, also in hopes of swaying votes in the midterms. The new insurance finder is the latest effort in that public campaign.

Using the new Web tool, consumers can tap information on more than 5,500 private plans sponsored by more than 1,000 insurers nationwide, Sebelius said. Additionally, every plan under Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program is listed. New high-risk plans targeting those with pre-existing conditions, which HHS launched Thursday, are included as well.

Jenny Sullivan, senior health policy analyst at Families USA, a consumer group, said the tool is "pretty phenomenal."

"You're about three clicks away from personalized coverage," she said.

The new website also includes information about coming provisions of the health reform law. Consumers searching for individual private plans, for example, will find a warning that "the current marketplace creates several challenges for the consumer." Another click indicates that, beginning in 2014, "these same plans won't be able to turn down anyone who has a pre-existing condition" — a stipulation of the Democrats' legislation.

Asked Thursday if certain elements of the website are political, Sebelius defended the tool, saying it's simply designed to provide consumers with information. "It's factually correct," she said.

Sebelius also tried to mitigate privacy concerns surrounding the new website.

"We are not collecting or storing information; we are not selling anything to anyone," she said. "There is no capacity or interest."