The Health Insurance Marketplace

From the USA.gov Blog:

The Health Insurance Marketplace: What It Offers and How to Register

When applying for health insurance, you usually have to share personal information with each private insurance company to find out how much a potential health plan costs. In the Health Insurance Marketplace, you have a simplified way of finding health insurance, comparing plans and reviewing coverage options from different providers.
In the Health Insurance Marketplace, you will need to share your personal information just once and you’ll get:

• the ability to compare different insurance companies and buy the health insurance plan of your choice
• if you qualify, a new tax credit to help pay premiums for health coverage based on income level
• if qualified, support for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program for Children (CHIP) based on income level

It is important to know that when you apply for health coverage through the marketplace, you need to give more information than is required by individual insurance companies. Additional information is needed to provide medical coverage based on income. In the marketplace, you will have to share the social security number of each family member, income information, details of your employer and any insurance you may have, including Medicare insurance.
By law, each person must have health insurance in 2014 or will pay a fine ($95 per adult, $47.50 per child or 1 percent of your income, whichever is the higher amount).

Ways to Register

There are four different ways you can register for health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace:
By Mail: Download the instructions (PDF) and application form (PDF). Complete your application and submit the form to:
Health Insurance Marketplace
Department of Health and Human Services
465 Industrial Blvd
London, KY 40750-0001
By phone: Call 1-800-318-2596, available 24 hours a day, or 1-855-889-4325 (TTY).
In person: To find local help, search by city and state or zip code.
Online: You can apply online at healthcare.gov.
The open enrollment period in the Health Insurance Marketplace began on October 1, 2013 and ends on March 31, 2014.
Remember that no medical coverage obtained will begin before January 1, 2014.

Read this post in Spanish.