Enrollment for Affordable Care Act starts Wednesday
But a shorter registration period this year, coupled with misinformation about the program and reduced advertising money, has some tasked with enrollment concerned that fewer people who need the insurance coverage will sign up. Meanwhile,
"We have made a concerted effort to reach out to former clients, to check in on them and let them know we're still here," said
Enrollment in the health insurance marketplace will last from
Along with shorter registration, the
Also, earlier this month the
Hope said all the cuts and changes with the program this year could have confused people, making them think the health care plans offered would be more expensive or had been canceled.
"We are concerned," Hope said. "I think we are all concerned also about young, healthy consumers who might think there is no longer a reason to apply ... we really want to see more of those get enrolled."
According to Enroll Alabama, a nonprofit created to inform people about the marketplaces and help them enroll, approximately 200,000 Alabamians have ACA health insurance plans.
Hope, who covers about eight counties in the region, said she and her fellow navigators in the state have had to adjust their schedules this year to accommodate the shortened enrollment period.
"We've tried to move and arrange our enrollment sites to provide as much coverage as we can," Hope said.
Hope said she would be in
"We are offering 9 ACA-compliant individual plans and 6 ACA-compliant small business plans in all counties in
Mackin has said that
Those cuts affect costs to insurers, but not to customers.
A study released Monday by the
The study shows that in many cases, lower-income consumers receiving premium tax credits will pay less for premiums in 2018 than in 2017 because their tax credits will rise dollar-for-dollar.
For example, a 40-year-old making
"There's all kind of confusion out there ... if you listen to just part of the news or certain sources, you'd think the ACA had gone away," Carnes said. "But the primary message is that the ACA is still the law of the land and affordable plans are still available."
Shafpel Benson, community outreach officer who helps enroll people in the ACA marketplace for
"We do have some concern about what the interest will be," Benson said.
Benson said Quality of Life has six employees trained to help people enroll in the marketplace this year. One of those employees is assigned to
Benson said her department has been receiving many calls over the last week from people wanting information about the marketplaces.
"A number of those have come from rural areas where there wasn't interest before," Benson said. "It shows there are still many individuals who need health insurance."
To set up an ACA enrollment appointment with
Staff writer
___
(c)2017 The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala.)
Visit The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala.) at www.annistonstar.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Hospice Tree of Light campaign begins soon
Alabama’s Uninsured Drivers Now Subject To Civil Penalties
Advisor News
Annuity News
Health/Employee Benefits News
Life Insurance News