CHARLESTON W.Va. — It’s that time of year again as Affordable Care Act navigators and health care advocates encourage everyone to enroll in ACA Marketplace Plans after 25 million still lack the coverage they need to stay healthy.
Representatives with West Virginians for Affordable Health Care were on hand with those from West Virginia Navigator to talk about the kick-off to Open Enrollment season for health care benefits Wednesday ahead of its start up date this Friday, November 1.
West Virginians for Affordable Health Care Executive Director Ellen Allen said they understand that times are tough for many West Virginians right now as rising costs cause them to worry about making ends meet, much less afford health care insurance coverage, but she said finding affordable coverage is more hopeful than ever before.
“The ACA has made health insurance much more affordable, more affordable than it has ever been before,” said Allen.
Primarily due to inflation and rising costs, Allen said 6%, or over 100,000 people in the state still remain uninsured.
However, she said with the expansion of access to the Affordable Care Act, uninsured rates have fallen significantly over the past several years, and it only continues to make affordable health care possible for all West Virginia families.
“That’s one thing we can count on, even in years where there’s not inflation, we know health care is going to go up, but the ACA has expanded health coverage to millions of Americans and West Virginians, and West Virginia had the largest growth of any state in the country last year,” she said.
Allen said last year, over 51,000 West Virginia residents enrolled in a plan through the ACA Marketplace, and enrollment has increased by 179% in the state since 2020.
She said the historic legislation has eliminated lifetime caps on health care coverage, expanded Medicaid and secured protection for millions of pre-existing medical conditions.
Kanawha County resident and cancer survivor Rusty Williams also spoke at Wednesday’s press conference regarding open enrollment. He said the ACA was what ultimately saved his life.
In 2012, Williams said he woke up on Mother’s Day with the most excruciating pain he had ever felt and in a couple of hours, he was diagnosed with late-stage testicular cancer.
He said at that point, before the ACA had begun to be put in place, he found himself at a loss.
“This is before the beginning tiers of the Affordable Care Act had begun to be implemented, so folks could still be discriminated against for having pre-existing conditions and those sorts of things, and I was one of those people,” he said. “They essentially said you need emergency surgery, this is bad, how can you pay for it?”
Williams said he spent the next six weeks fighting trying to get coverage while he should have solely been focusing on his battle with cancer.
Then, he said that’s when the beginning tiers of the ACA began to be opened up and that essentially changed his whole situation, granting him the health care he needed to live.
“I’m a firm believer that, if it were not for the Affordable Care Act and were it not for the Medicaid expansion, I would not be here today, so on behalf of all of the West Virginians, all of the Mountaineers that has found themselves in my position, I can not speak highly enough for the Affordable Care Act and what it did for me,” said Williams.
WV Navigator Program Assistant Director Nicki Bailey said if you don’t have health insurance through a job, Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or through any other program, you can find it through the Marketplace, and she encourages everyone to do so.
Bailey reiterates that the plans on the Marketplace are way more affordable than ever due to recent changes.
“In fact, 97-percent of West Virginians who applied last year, were able to receive subsidies to help lower those premiums, and about four and five are eligible for plans that start under $10 dollars a month,” she said.
Bailey said and it’s plans that cover everything a person needs.
She said those at WV Navigator will sit down with consumers and work with them on everything they need to know about the enrollment process and then help them enroll either in-person at one of their offices around the state, over-the-phone, or at one of their open enrollment events they plan to hold.
WV Navigator is a free, non-profit program available to all in-state residents offering free health care enrollment assistance. You can visit them on their website or Facebook page to find an open enrollment event near you, or call them at (304)356-5834 for assistance.
Open enrollment for ACA Marketplace benefits runs through January 15, but Bailey said if you want your coverage to start January 1, you must enroll by December 15.
Allen adds that studies continue to show just how important health insurance really is.
“You know, healthy people make healthy communities and economies, studies confirm health care coverage improves access to care and supports positive health outcomes, including an individual sense of their own health and well-being.”