Savannah area experienced surge in Obamacare applications

April 14--Having never had health insurance, Lenny Lawton, a truck driver and father of three, says the Affordable Care Act provides a rare opportunity for him to get coverage.

Lawton joined others locally who sought coverage before the March 31 open enrollment deadline for coverage this year as enrollment numbers surged.

Across the country, more than 7.5 million people have signed up for coverage under the new health care law as of April 1, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently announced.

In Chatham County, at least 1,982 people since October have enrolled in private health care plans for coverage under the law, also known as Obamacare, according to the Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council. There were 3,019 applications (783 in March), it said, submitted either through a paper application or online.

A noticeable surge in applications as well as apparent outreach efforts, data shows, occurred in March.

The council, a county-wide group that works to increase access to health services, reported that 3,846 people (1,375 in March) were provided with outreach and educational services at the Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Care and J.C. Lewis Primary Health Care Center, the only local organizations federally certified to assist residents with enrollment.

The data does not reflect those who have signed up for coverage on their own or with other organizations.

"The large increase in March Affordable Care Act enrollment assistance in Chatham County matches the surge of U.S.-wide enrollments in health care insurance," said council Executive Director Dale Carlson-Bebout in an email.

"The motivation to enroll in quality and affordable health care was strong and will allow many to get the health care they deserve and have previously not received."

Lawton was one of those motivated to seek coverage.

"It's expensive," he said in explaining why he has been uninsured. "I couldn't afford it."

On March 22, Lawton attended an Affordable Care Act enrollment fair, hosted by the council, at the Savannah Civic Center. Enrollment assistance was provided by 11 federally certified navigators from the two clinics, the University of Georgia and Seedco, a nonprofit.

More than 130 people attended, according to organizers, which is about the same number who visited the council's enrollment fair in December.

With some exceptions, adults who did not sign up by the March 31 deadline face a $95 penalty (half of that for children) during next year's tax season, or 1 percent of household income, whichever is greater, under provisions of the law.

"I'd rather not pay that penalty," said Lawton, 52. "If you're going to pay, you might as well pay for the insurance."

Statewide, 177,668 people had signed up for coverage through the health exchange as of March 15. Of those enrollees, 144,665 have paid their insurance premiums, said Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the state Department of Insurance.

The 7 million national figure reported, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, represents only part of the total number of people who have received coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Millions more, officials say, have been covered by state Medicaid expansions.

Critics of the law have argued that the figures released by President Barack Obama's administration do not reveal how many people have paid their initial premiums. They also question whether people counted among new enrollees were already insured under plans they've since cancelled.

Georgia is among 36 states that use the federal HealthCare.gov website, while other states run their own exchange websites.

Medicaid expansion has been credited with increasing the number of Americans who have health insurance. The White House reported earlier this month that an additional 3 million people enrolled in the state- and federally-funded program by the end of February compared to Oct. 1, when open enrollment under the law began.

There is no deadline for enrollment in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program.

Georgia has declined to expand Medicaid eligibility, which was originally mandated under the 2010 Affordable Care Act before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it could only be optional.

Gov. Nathan Deal and other Republicans say the state can't afford to expand Medicaid.

Before wrapping up the 2014 session, state lawmakers passed legislation that requires the legislature, and not the governor, to approve expansion of Medicaid.

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