There's just one week to go for open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act.
March 31 is the final day for individuals to sign up on the state exchange without being subjected to a penalty of $95 per person, or 1 percent of your income, whichever is higher.
Tony DiPace, the owner of a small business in Enfield, recently enrolled after his son had to have surgery.
"I got a phone call saying my deductible for his surgery was $3,000," DiPace said.
He decided enough was enough. DiPace said he wanted to see what else was out there so he went on the state health insurance exchange and found a plan that worked for him.
"Actually much better coverage," said DiPace. "I'm saving $1200 a month and I've got much better coverage."
DiPace said he was surprised how easy it was to enroll after hearing about problems on the news.
Connecticut officials are making a big push in this final week to reach out to people who haven't yet signed up.
"If you're not enrolled by March 31, you won't be able to enroll until Nov. 15," said Larease Royes, manager of the Access Health CT store in New Britain.
As of last week, more than 165,000 people had enrolled through the state exchange. Of those, 102,000 received Medicaid coverage and 62,000 enrolled in private insurance.
While some remain skeptical of the new law, DiPace said he sees the benefits.
"I think it's going to help the overall economy because the more money people keep in their pockets, the more money they will have to do what they want to do," he said.
