Counselors help demystify health insurance enrollment

Nov. 16--Nichole Shilling, 25, has had health insurance for about four years now.

For each of those years, Shilling has made use of the help of Altru Health System counselors to enroll in the insurance exchange established by the Affordable Care Act. Using the system on her own was a "scary thing to when you're young," she said with a laugh, but the counselors made the process a more pleasant experience.

"Every year it's easier to navigate because you understand it better each year," Shilling said. "That first year I was confused. I was like, 'Help me!' But now it's like, I've just got to go in and sign up. I get reminded to do it by my grandfather, but still."

Altru staff hosted an event Tuesday, a little more than two weeks after the Nov. 1 start of the ACA open enrollment period, to help area residents move through the process just as Shilling did.

Jill Cormier, Altru's patient advocacy supervisor, was overseeing counselors certified in dealing with the ACA at the Altru Business Center, 2401 DeMers Ave. in Grand Forks.

Tuesday's open enrollment event was one of four scheduled to run until end of the enrollment period Jan. 31. The remaining events take place at the center Dec. 13, Jan. 10 and Jan. 26.

Cormier said turnout for the events has been good enough to justify adding more counseling sessions as the years have gone by. She estimated the highest turnout was more than 50 people cycling through the office to take part in a process which can take about an hour to complete, depending on whether the applicant is enrolling for the first time or re-enrolling for a new year.

"Usually they come in, know nothing about insurance and are rather concerned because they have already faced a fine and had to pay one the year before or know a fine is increasing," Cormier said. "They come in very frantic, because insurance is complex and there's a lot more to it than what you think."

Over the course of Tuesday's session, Altru counselors met with walk-ins and took appointments from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Cormier said many of the people who come for counseling may be short on time. Her busiest hours are typically over the lunch break and after 5:30 p.m.

Counselors are certified to work with patients from both North Dakota and Minnesota, Cormier said.

Would-be applicants can enroll with Altru counselors outside the all-day events. Certified staff members are on site at Altru's business center, as well as its professional center and main hospital, and accept walk-ins and appointments from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. throughout the regular business week. Cormier encouraged applicants to bring an identification card and financial information, including any tax returns, pay stubs or W-2 forms.

Though her re-enrollment process gets easier as time goes by, Shilling said she continues to seek the help of counselors to make sure she's not missing anything in the fine-print of an insurance plan.

She encouraged those without health insurance to go in for an application and "get it done."

"You need it, there's no question about it," Shilling said.

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