Enrollment Began Yesterday for the Third Year for ACA Health Insurance

NJ Democrats Applauded Increased coverage Rates in NJ and the Northeast, Encouraged Consumers to shop for Best Rates among Plans, and Stressed the Need for more folks Under Age 35 to Enroll If Plans were to Remain Accessible to Many Taxpayers

U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ-06) held a press conference yesterday in Edison, NJ to announce the third annual open enrollment period at one of the government’s enrollment centers and to stress their support for the ACA and for health insurance as universal right rather than a privilege or benefit of employment or wealth or income.

“What we are doing today is giving security to folks they deserve for being part of you communities, of the American family,» Booker said.

Pallone – referred to as an “architect of the ACA” by fellow Democrats at today’s event — was the preferred candidate by much of NJ’s Democratic establishment for the U.S. Senate seat left open by the death of Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) in 2013.

Pallone and Booker stood together yesterday to stress the importance of people who don’t have insurance enrolling and of those who do really shopping their plans. Pallone also mentioned his continued commitment to a state-run marketplace in NJ.

Pallone encouraged consumers to shop around.

«The more people who participate in an insurance pool tends to lower enrollment costs» he told the crowd gathered at the registration center in Edison yesterday.

Health insurance consumers logging into HealthCare.gov this week, the first week of the Affordable Care Act’s third open enrollment season, may be in for sticker shock, unless they are willing to shop around, Democrats and the NY Times have reported. Federal officials acknowledged on Friday that many people would need to pick new plans to avoid substantial increases in premiums.

“Competition breeds competitive pricing” Pallone said at today’s event. “On average an individual in NJ can save $650 a year by shopping again and not defaulting to the same plan they selected last year, said Jackie Cornell-Bechelli, HHS regional director. The idea behind the insurance marketplaces set up by Obamacare is that insurance companies can compete for customers by offering different services and prices. Many insurance companies see more revenue and enrollments and are less profitable since the ACA started, the WSJ reported this morning. Most customers have a selection of insurance plans, but not every plan has proved popular. Companies have increased their revenues, though not all are profitable running ACA plans. Lower-cost plans with high deductibles in certain categories have captured a majority of the markets.

To obtain coverage starting on Jan. 1, consumers must sign up by Dec. 15.

Folks who seek in-person assistance at one of the centers such as the center in Edison are two times more likely to enroll in a plan, said Pallone. Schools and community organizations and hospitals will all be offering in-person registration.

In NJ there are more than three insurers offering plans which the federal government says should keep prices more affordable than in other states where there are fewer companies offering Medicaid plans and non-Medicaid market plans on the federal exchange for NJ residents. Horizon, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, AmeriHealth, Health Republic offer non-Medicaid plans on the exchange. Horizon, United Healthcare (United Community plan), Aetna and Amerigroup offer Medicaid plans in NJ.

Individuals and families have until January 31 to enroll in a plan.

Permanent residents with fewer than 5 years of residency in the U.S. do not qualify for ACA plans or insurance other than what they can purchase in the private sector.

Undocumented immigrants and the children of undocumented immigrants who are not born in the U.S. also do not qualify for health insurance under the ACA, removing many young people and Latinos from the potential insurance pool rolls of the eligible.

We traditionally “take care of our cars better than we take care of ourselves” said Jessica, a Latina who spoke at the event, after having taking her father in for screening for high blood pressure and a heart condition and herself discovering she had Crohn’s disease after acquiring insurance under the ACA. Pallone touted the end to discrimination against patients for pre-existing conditions or for being women and also lauded the end of lifetime limits, lifetime dollar limit on most benefits received by Americans in any health plan. According to the Kaiser Family Foundations Employer Health Benefits Survey, 59 percent of all workers covered by their employers health plan in 2009 had some lifetime limit placed on their benefits. In addition, 89 percent of people with individually purchased coverage had a lifetime limit on their benefits. These plans change that in that they offer coverage and preventative medicine to many folks who previously were uninsured making it difficult for them to know of pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and Crohn’s disease.

Many NJ mall business owners pay two to three times what they did pre-ACA for Health Insurance, tens of thousands of dollars in premiums and deductibles and young people have been hard to convince that out of pocket premiums and 6-figure deductibles are worth it. Folks earning under $45,000 a year — many whose children qualify for Medicaid – have also be reluctant to part with double-digit percentages of their take-home pay to pay premiums and deductibles many are finding unaffordable. The plans will remain expensive for many taxpayers unless more folks under age 35 and more blacks and Latinos sign up for the plans, said Cornell-Bechelli. “More than 30% of individuals who are not enrolled and are eligible are under age 35.”

Corrections and Updates:

This article has been corrected and updated to say:

«Permanent residents with fewer than 5 years of residency in the U.S. do not qualify for ACA plans or insurance other than what they can purchase in the private sector».

Correction/update: Permanent residents less than 5 years can not get NJ Family Care under the expanded Medicaid program, however NJ permanent residents still may be able to purchase through the marketplace (ACA) and get subsidies. If you or someone you know is a permanent resident and uninsured or you have questions about being a permanent resident and health insurance call Anthony Borges at 908-455-2916 or call us at Reporte Hispano at 609 933 1400.

«Undocumented immigrants and the children of undocumented immigrants who are not born in the U.S. also do not qualify for health insurance under the ACA, removing many young people and Latinos from the potential insurance pool rolls of the eligible.» -Partially incorrect:

Update: Some children of undocumented immigrants MAY be eligible for NJ Family Care under the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) even if they do not meet the 5-years-of-residency requirement. If you are not sure how to enroll an uninsured child you know in CHIP call Anthony Borges 908-455-2916 or Reporte Hispano at 609 933 1400.