Deadline looms for insurance sign-ups

Assistance available for those needing help with enrollment

Health advocates have become used to the last-minute sign-ups for health insurance by New Mexicans.

More than half the 50,000 enrollees last year came in the month of December, with many of those in the first week of January as consumers who never signed up for a plan woke up in a new year and found themselves without coverage.

With the new enrollment deadline for coverage from the Affordable Care Act on Dec. 15, Maureen Manring has a message for those who need individual insurance outside of an employee group: “The Dec. 15 deadline is important, don’t miss the deadline.”

Manring, director of communications for be Wellnm, was in Santa Fe on Friday at the organization’s enrollment assistance center, 2945 Rodeo Park Drive East.

The center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Fridays and by appointment. There are Spanish speakers and other volunteers to help navigate the many healthinsurance options for individuals and families.

There are also in-person help centers in Albuquerque, Gallup and Las Cruces, as well as a telephone call line that is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturdays. A website can be accessed at www.bewellnm.com.

The Santa Fe center had a dozen appointments before noon Friday and Manring said all the locations have been busy with people coming in wanting information or asking questions before signing up for a plan on the healthcare.gov platform, the official health-insurance site operated by the U.S. Health and Human Services Department.

Reduced reimbursement pay from the federal government to insurers is one of the big changes coming from the Republican administration of President Donald Trump. That has led to increased uncertainty and higher premium costs in New Mexico and elsewhere.

There is still a federal requirement under the Affordable Care Act that mostly everyone needs to have health insurance or pay a penalty when they file their income tax return, though many Republicans want to lift that mandate.

But it is more important than ever for consumers to pay attention and get information themselves or seek it out through a private insurance broker or one of the counselors at beWellnm.

“You’ll want to sit down with somebody and look at everything,” said Manring. “Circumstances change, maybe something in your life changed and you want a different plan.”

“This year, open enrollment is shorter than it has ever been,” said Cheryl Gardner, chief executive at beWellnm. “It’s important that everyone take advantage of these resources in order to avoid paying the tax penalty.”

Counselors have been calling and texting those who signed up last year about enrollment and those with plans have probably already received information from their current insurance plan.

Some of the big changes involve increased premiums for some of the mid-level silver plans, said Peng Mak, an independent insurance broker who was volunteering Friday at the Rodeo Road help center. He said for many individual consumers who receive advanced tax credit help, there might be better deals with bronze, even though they might pay more out-of-pocket costs.

He had one family of four whose monthly premium went from $1,300 to $2,400 and another whose premium went from $1,040 a month before federal tax credits to $139 after calculating the credits, which are based on expected income in 2018.

He is also finding that many consumers this year don’t mind changing doctors if it means paying a lower monthly premium. “Even if they have to change doctors they’re going to pick something less expensive,” he said.

The biggest cost issues now are for middle-income earners who make more than $48,000 individually, more for families, an income above the level to qualify for financial assistance on healthcare.gov. Those consumers need to pay extra attention when they shop, said Mak, and look at all plans even those that do not sell on the healthcare.gov exchange.

Even with that, Mak is seeing some who decide to go without coverage and pay a penalty because they can’t afford it. That’s especially true for those in the 50s and 60s who might see their annual cost for health insurance move above $10,000.

“Monthly premiums larger than a mortgage payment, how is that normal?” he said.