Open enrollment at Access Health CT begins today online for the third year of it under the Affordable Care Act.
“Thanks to the ACA, almost 18 million people have gained access to health coverage. The law is working, and American families of all incomes are back in charge of their health care. Federal and state exchanges are now operating better than ever, and there are affordable plans available for everyone," U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) said. "For Connecticut residents, Access Health CT offers in-person assistance and online tools to make enrolling in health insurance easy. This is about the real lives of moms and dads who, before the ACA, lived every day with the burden of knowing they were one accident or illness away from total financial ruin.”
If you don’t have coverage, you’ll have to pay about $700 for yourself and anyone else in your household, or 2 percent of your household income, whichever is greater. Kids without coverage are another $350. If you want to avoid the fine, you can sign up for health insurance.
"We're really basing it on your income and your household size and bring a document that shows you're a citizen or you're lawfully present, we need your social, your annual income, and just with that basic information we can give you a rough estimation of what you qualify for," Marlude Pierre-Louis, a manager for Access Health, said.
Online enrollment starts Sunday and the offices will open monday for it. Open enrollment ends Jan. 31.
Access Heath's outreach team has been hard at work in recent weeks getting the word out about the benefits of coverage and the financial penalties connected to being without coverage.
“They’re definitely ramping up the business, they’re giving out flyers, they’re hosting some community chats" said Marlue Pierre-Louis, who manages the New Haven storefront for Access Health CT.
Connecticut's healthcare exchange runs storefronts, known as "enrollment centers" in New Britain and New Haven for people to meet with someone in person to review their coverage options.
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Penalties for not signing up are higher than they were last year. For each person in a household, the financial penalty is $695 per person per household and $347.50 for each child, or the total penalty could be 2.5 percent of the household's total income, whichever is greater.
During tax season, filers must provide proof of insurance and if someone doesn't provide proof of coverage, the penalties are applied.
Four providers are available to individual customers looking for what are known as "qualifying health plans" or QHPs.
United, Anthem, HealthyCT and Connecticare all offer plans during open enrollment.
Pierre-Louis with Access Health CT says customers are advised to speak with enrollment specialists to ensure that they're getting all of the right information when it comes federal subsidies that could drastically trim the costs of premiums.
“We’re really basing it on your income and your household size and bring a document that shows you’re a citizen or you’re lawfully present, we need your social, your annual income, and just with that basic information we can give you a rough estimation of what you qualify for," she said.
Connecticut has one of the lowest rates of uninsured people in the country at about 4 percent. That equates to just more than 140,000 people. That's a drop from 12 percent when Access Health CT first opened in 2013, Murphy's office said.
The goal this year, for Access Health CT, is to keep searching for people who have fallen through the cracks, while also retaining the people who have purchased qualifying health plans in the past.
Click here for the Access Health CT locations.
