MONROE - Re-enrollment in the Affordable Care Act took effect Nov. 15, but many people in Green County still have questions about the federal law.
A panel of health care professionals met at the Green County Justice Center Thursday in an attempt to ease the enrollment process for area citizens. Most of the audience was comprised of health care or government workers, but several citizens raised their questions about enrollment in ACA.
One man, who is self-employed and therefore has a net taxable income of zero, said that even though he qualifies for Medicaid, he doesn't want to "game the system," and asked what kind of insurance the professionals in attendance would recommend.
Jim Nemeth, chief financial officer at Monroe Clinic, said it would be better to go through ACA's health insurance marketplace and choose between the five insurance providers in Monroe: Unity Health Insurance, Dean Health Plan, Arise Health Plan, United Healthcare and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Of those providers, there are multiple plans including the basic plans for which there are at least 40 options. The clinic has seven staff members who specialize in enrolling people with insurance through the ACA and can walk people through the process to pick out the best plan for them, he said.
The ACA was passed in 2010, and despite some rocky beginnings, including problems with enrollment through the website healthcare.gov, more than 8 million people enrolled through the federal program during 2013, the first year of enrollment. The enrollment period led to the lowest number of uninsured Americans in five years. As of May, 20 million Americans gained health insurance through the ACA and 140,000 enrolled in Wisconsin with 81,000 enrolling for BadgerCare Plus, the statewide Medicaid program.
Nemeth said he hopes that over time, the frustration of trying to get insured in order to avoid tax penalties will ease and enrollment will run smoothly.
"We understand there will be some tweaks to it (the ACA), but the clinic supports the overhaul completely," Nemeth said.
Caroline Gomez, a health care outreach expert from Milwaukee, co-hosted the forum and outlined some of the major facets of the ACA: The ACA no longer allows for insurance providers to deny people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, cancer or mental health problems; the ACA allows for adults up to age 26 to stay on their parents' insurance; and people who are uninsured will face tax penalties of up to 2 percent of their income in 2015.
Gomez warned that those who are already enrolled would be ineligible for tax credits in 2015 unless they actively re-enroll. Additional tax credits would ease the cost of premiums for those insured unless they auto-enroll, in which case they revert to the premium payments they made in 2014, either up front or at the end of the taxable year.
The re-enrollment period will end Feb. 15.
A panel of health care professionals met at the Green County Justice Center Thursday in an attempt to ease the enrollment process for area citizens. Most of the audience was comprised of health care or government workers, but several citizens raised their questions about enrollment in ACA.
One man, who is self-employed and therefore has a net taxable income of zero, said that even though he qualifies for Medicaid, he doesn't want to "game the system," and asked what kind of insurance the professionals in attendance would recommend.
Jim Nemeth, chief financial officer at Monroe Clinic, said it would be better to go through ACA's health insurance marketplace and choose between the five insurance providers in Monroe: Unity Health Insurance, Dean Health Plan, Arise Health Plan, United Healthcare and Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Of those providers, there are multiple plans including the basic plans for which there are at least 40 options. The clinic has seven staff members who specialize in enrolling people with insurance through the ACA and can walk people through the process to pick out the best plan for them, he said.
The ACA was passed in 2010, and despite some rocky beginnings, including problems with enrollment through the website healthcare.gov, more than 8 million people enrolled through the federal program during 2013, the first year of enrollment. The enrollment period led to the lowest number of uninsured Americans in five years. As of May, 20 million Americans gained health insurance through the ACA and 140,000 enrolled in Wisconsin with 81,000 enrolling for BadgerCare Plus, the statewide Medicaid program.
Nemeth said he hopes that over time, the frustration of trying to get insured in order to avoid tax penalties will ease and enrollment will run smoothly.
"We understand there will be some tweaks to it (the ACA), but the clinic supports the overhaul completely," Nemeth said.
Caroline Gomez, a health care outreach expert from Milwaukee, co-hosted the forum and outlined some of the major facets of the ACA: The ACA no longer allows for insurance providers to deny people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, cancer or mental health problems; the ACA allows for adults up to age 26 to stay on their parents' insurance; and people who are uninsured will face tax penalties of up to 2 percent of their income in 2015.
Gomez warned that those who are already enrolled would be ineligible for tax credits in 2015 unless they actively re-enroll. Additional tax credits would ease the cost of premiums for those insured unless they auto-enroll, in which case they revert to the premium payments they made in 2014, either up front or at the end of the taxable year.
The re-enrollment period will end Feb. 15.