Obamacare open enrollment starts Nov. 1. Here is what’s new in Orlando

Oct. 24--A couple of weeks ago, Anne Packham, the lead Obamacare navigator in Central Florida, set up a table at a local health fair to remind passersby that open enrollment for the health law's insurance markets starts on Nov. 1 and ends on Dec. 15.

Some were surprised that Obamacare -- the Affordable Care Act -- was still around.

"I cannot even tell you how many people walked up to me and said, 'Oh, Obamacare? I thought that was gone. Is it still there?'" said Packham, the marketplace project director for the Primary Care Access Network in Orange County.

The answer is yes, the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, is still in place.

In Florida more insurance companies are participating in the health insurance marketplace -- also called the exchange -- this year than they did last year. And the premiums are expected to decrease slightly or stay the same for many.

In Central Florida, the newcomer in the marketplace is Bright Health Insurance, which will be available in several counties, including Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole.

The company has partnered with AdventHealth giving plan members access to about 3,000 providers, the company said in a news release.

Oscar Health is further establishing its presence in its second year in Florida, expanding to Miami, Daytona, Ocala and Tampa this year.

Oscar contracts with AdventHealth and HCA hospitals, meaning that those hospitals will be in-network for the members.

Florida Blue remains the largest ACA provider in the state, offering plans in all counties.

If you're happy with your current plan, it's still important to look at your options to make sure nothing has changed, Packham said.

"We really encourage people to actively re-enroll, which means going back to their application, just clicking through all the buttons, even if they haven't changed their income or family size, seeing what their tax credit is and then making a decision based on what plans are available and what doctors are in net work for them," she said.

If you have questions, you can make an appointment with a navigator by visiting coveringcfl.net or calling 877-564-5031. Navigators provide assistance for free and don't advocate for any insurance company.

Packham encouraged consumers to call early; there are fewer navigators available this year because of the Trump administration's cuts to the budget.

Before the cuts last year, Packham at one point had about 13 navigators. This year, she's working with five.

Statewide, the number of navigators has dropped from a high of more than 150 year-round to about 50, only half of whom will be available for special enrollment assistance during the year, said Jodi Ray, program director of Florida Covering Kids & Families, a nonprofit based at the University of South Florida, which as been receiving and managing the federal navigator funds for the state of Florida.

Despite the cuts, Florida led the nation with nearly 1.8 million people getting coverage via the ACA marketplace last year.

"One of the things that tells me is that I have [navigators] who do a great job, but also there's a demand for what we're providing," Ray said. "People want to be able to have access to health care."

The administration is asking a federal appeals court in New Orleans to overturn the entire Affordable Care Act, which offers taxpayer-subsidized private plans for people who aren't covered on the job, as unconstitutional.

Even as it pursues Obamacare's demise in the courts, the Trump administration says it has played a role in stabilizing the program.

"Until Congress gets around to replacing it, the president will do what he can to fix the problems created by this system for millions of Americans," Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said. "The president who was supposedly trying to sabotage this law has been better at running it than the guy who wrote it."

Although the program is stable, enrollment has been slowly eroding since Trump took office, from 12.2 million in 2017 to 11.4 million this year. The slippage has come mainly in the states where the federal government runs sign-up season. Slashing the ad budget was one of the Trump administration's early actions.

The appeals court in New Orleans could issue its ruling soon, but Azar said he's not concerned even if the judges say the whole program should be tossed.

"Our messaging would be to keep calm and carry on," he said, noting that the case is expected to go to the Supreme Court. "There will be no immediate disruption to anyone."

Associated Press contributed to this story.

[email protected].

Marketplace insurers by county:

Lake: Florida Blue, Bright Health, Celtic (Ambetter), Health Options, Oscar

Orange: Florida Blue, Bright Health, Celtic (Ambetter), Health Options, Molina, Oscar

Osceola: Florida Blue, Bright Health, Celtic (Ambetter), Health Options, Molina, Oscar

Seminole: Florida Blue, Bright Health, Celtic (Ambetter), Florida Health Care Plan, Health First Commercial Plans, Health Options, Molina, Oscar

If you need help:

-- In Central Florida: coveringcfl.net or 877-564-5031.

-- In Florida: coveringflorida.org or 877-813-9115.

-- healthcare.gov or 800-318-2596

-- A licensed insurance broker.

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