The countdown is on as Americans approach the Dec. 15 deadline to enroll in a health care plan under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Even with all the political debate over health care, enrollments appear to be going smoothly so far in south central Kentucky.
There is some good news about health care enrollments in the 10 counties served by Community Action of Southern Kentucky. Melissa Grimes is the organization’s manager for the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange. She said many people who were worried about the cost of health insurance are breathing a sigh of relief.
"This year, there was a lot of speculation that it was going to go up. And the premiums did go up, however, so did the tax credits. So people are still finding their premiums are very affordable.”
Grimes said enrollment is going at a steady pace and so far, enrollment helpers called “assisters” have met with 220 families. Of those, about 170 families have enrolled in a health insurance plan.
She said residents can input their own information online to get a Qualified Health Plan, or QHP, but it takes a little patience.
“When you do work through the website for the QHPs it is a lengthy process. I always tell people to plan on an hour to go through it all. But I’m finding there’s still a huge number of people that are a little bit scared of the computer, they want that assistance, so they come in and they see us.”)
So far, about 1.5 million Americans have gotten health insurance under the Affordable Care Act since open enrollment began Nov. 1. Online information and enrollment is at healthcare.gov
