Health care made affordable
Joshua Benson developed a rare disease, lost his pancreas due to surgery, andwas diagnosed as a Type One Diabetic all before his 25th birthday. Despite needing costly insulin injections, enzyme treatments and frequent doctor visits, he neverworried about the cost of his care.
That changed when he aged out of his parents’ health insurance policy and had to start paying for his care out of pocket. His insulin expenses alone surged to $ 800 a month. He worried constantly about what would happen if he needed more serious treatment. For Josh, like most uninsured Americans, the cost of major surgery could mean bankruptcy.
Before the Affordable Care Act, Joshwould have gone uninsured for years. The health insurance industry’s business model depended on denying coverage to people with pre- existing conditions and dropping healthy customers when they got sick. That all changed last fall when health care reform finally took effect.
LastNovember, Josh attended an event at a Delray Beach public library and enrolled in a platinum health plan on the newMarketplace. A $ 215 tax subsidy lowered his premiums to just $ 133 a month. Like all plans on theMarketplace, Josh’s coverage includes the essentials like prescriptions, preventative care, mental health services, visits with specialists, and more.
Every day, more Americans are enrolling in the newMarketplace. Though the initial launch ofHealthCare. Govwas disappointing, the website is nowrunning smoothly. Today, 3.5 million uninsured Floridians may finally have away to find affordable health coverage. They are workers whose employers do not provide benefits and self- employed entrepreneurs who cannot swing the premiums. They are single mothers who fear one illness could bankrupt their families and grandparents who are not yet eligible forMedicare. They are young people, like Joshua, whose pre- existing conditions have locked them out of America’s health care system.
The time for scare tactics and politial attacks is over. Josh’s story reminds us that the Affordable Care is not about politics, but about making coverage affordable forworking families.
Floridians have untilMarch 31 to enroll in a plan on the newMarketplace online, by phone, or with a trained counselor. Costs will vary according to family size and income, but there is plenty of time to explore your options. Learn howto begin at www. GetCoveredAmerica. org.