Obamacare sign-ups off to smoother start
There were no big crowds but also no major problems reported Saturday as people around Chicago and nationwide came out to sign up for a 2015 health insurance plan through the Affordable Care Act.
Saturday was the first day of the new open-enrollment period under President Barack Obama’s health-care law
At Heartland Health Centers on Devon Avenue, Roglio Hernandez, 48, showed up at 8:30 a.m. to sign up for a plan. The Rogers Park resident had thought about getting insurance last year, after going without any for many years. But he said, “I didn’t know what to do, so I decided to wait a little longer.”
But nearing 50 and faced with rising penalties for not having insurance, Hernandez decided it was time. He said he makes about $50,000 as a house painter, so he qualified for a plan with a tax credit through the online marketplace. He bought one that costs about $150 a month.
Michael Winters, 60, from Edgewater, was just shopping.
“My premium is going up from Blue Cross, so I don’t especially want to stay with them,” said Winters, who bought a “Silver” plan last year but hadn’t qualified for a tax credit. “It was already pretty high.”
Last year, when the plans first were available, problems with the government computer system meant long waits for millions of people — for some it took hours, others even longer. This year, it appears those kinks have mostly been worked out, ac- cording to sign-up workers, called “navigators,” helping Chicago-area residents sign up for a plan on the HealthCare.gov website.
Will Wilson, a health-care navigator working Saturday at Heartland Health Centers, said the website worked “much more smoothly than last year.”
But therewere other problems— like people forgetting passwords they created last year and, when they created a new one, having trouble accessing their old information, said Lakethia Conners, another Chicago navigator.
Open enrollment lasts from Nov. 15 until Feb. 15.
Individuals who make between $11,670 and $46,680 are supposed to qualify for a tax credit to help cover premiums if they buy coverage through HealthCare.gov. A family of four would need to make about $23,850 to $95,400.