ACA A Blessing And A Curse For Ky. Residents
By Frank Boyett, The Gleaner, Henderson, Ky. | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Local insurance agents, meanwhile, say the extra business drummed up has been like a having a tiger by the tail, but the end is in sight.
Open enrollment this year ends
So far, according to the Friday's numbers, 321,932 people in
The ACA has been one the most contentious political issues in decades, and even those who have benefitted from it are not entirely pleased with the results.
"I'm not especially insurable," said
Priest said he's been in the insurance business three decades and "never in my career have I had so many people profusely thank me, hug me, write me notes and shed tears of joy as when I tell them they are covered and the price is zero or much less than what they would have paid prior to this year." He's helped nearly 200 get health insurance recently.
McKee initially tried to sign up for insurance though the state's Kynect website, but after getting bogged down and receiving no response from her telephone calls, she called Priest and "within five minutes I had health insurance."
She's thrilled to have it. But when asked if she's satisfied with it, she replied, "That's a little bit more difficult to answer. The health care itself is not great and there have been a lot of issues with the newer plans they've offered in this area. I've had a lot of trouble finding in-network providers. Everyone's having issues, from the feedback I've heard."
Priest said much the same: "Many people had trouble logging on to Kynect and working through the website." He said certified agents can provide better service than the website and "the price is the same whether you work with an agent, call kynect direct, mail (or) fax a paper application."
Both Jones and Vancil said they've been extremely busy since Kynect became available last fall. "My big concern when it first started was that nobody would want an insurance agent to help them, but apparently I was wrong," Jones said. "I've been in high demand. It's been a roller coaster ride. It's settling down some, but it's about over, too," with the
"It's been much more than we expected," Vancil said of the business volume. "People are anxious to find coverage that is not dependent on their health conditions. And the premium subsidies make it very inexpensive, depending on their income."
"If you are a single person and make less than
"I'm seeing people who could never afford health insurance," Jones said. "I don't think that's a bad thing. If you've got somebody working a
Vancil expressed concern that the ACA business model is not sustainable. "It's highly dependent on healthy young individuals enrolling, and we're not getting the numbers of those we need." Gov.
The main problem, Vancil said, is that
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