Health exchange signup deadline approaches
Despite ACA’s peril, ‘business as usual’
The deadline to enroll in the federal health insurance marketplace is drawing near: Those buying policies between now and Jan. 31 will have coverage starting March 1.
Despite the threat of an Affordable Care Act repeal from Congress, the interim chief executive officer of beWellnm, the state’s health insurance exchange, said they are seeing more people sign up.
“We’ve actually seen an uptick from last year,” said Linda Wedeen, adding that the number has risen by a “couple of thousand” year over year.
“The majority are individuals and families re-enrolling,” said Wedeen. As of Dec. 31, nearly 51,000 New Mexicans had selected a plan using the HealthCare. gov platform, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
A new report also finds that more than 11.5 million people nationwide were signed up for health insurance marketplace coverage as of Dec. 24, an increase of 286,000 plan selections relative to the comparable period last year.
The fight on Capitol Hill to repeal and replace the ACA, or Obamacare, is underway with Republicans saying it is a top priority. Still it is the law of the land and once insurance policies are issued they will be honored, said Wedeen. Also remaining in place this year are the government subsides to help pay for premiums, which benefited about 70 percent of the state’s enrollees, mostly low-income people who were not eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.
“It’s business as usual,” said Wedeen, referring to the 300 insurance brokers around the state that work actively on ACA products and are qualified to sell them. Or people can explore options at beWellnm.com to select a plan, find a broker or agent and see if they qualify for a subsidy based on income and family size.
They can also visit several locations open around the state to help people sign up for health insurance. The beWellnm open enrollment walk-in center in Albuquerque is at 6403 Menaul NE. English- and Spanishspeaking enrollment counselors are available to help Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
New Mexico’s insurance marketplace now offers policies from four providers: Molina Healthcare, New Mexico Health Connections Christus St. Vincent Health Plan and Blue Cross Blue Shield New Mexico.
Those who didn’t have health insurance in 2016, will pay a tax penalty of $695 for each adult and $347.50 for children under 18, or a maximum of $2,085.