Locals seeking insurance have fears about Affordable Care Act as deadline nears

The March 31 deadline to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, or as many call it, Obamacare, is coming to a close as some Michiganders scramble to sign up while others remain unaffected.

“I haven’t finished yet,” said 22-year-old Delta College student Heather Gray from Freeland, who is using HealthCare.gov’s website to choose an insurance plan. “I don’t think they will be expensive,” said Gray, who said she remains optimistic about her choices for insurance.

Health coverage plans include five different packages: bronze, silver, gold, platinum and catastrophic; the lower the level plan is, the more you pay. Platinum covers 90 percent and catastrophic is a basic coverage for people under the age of 30, according to the Washington Post.

“Too many relatives of mine have lost health insurance,” said 20-year-old Justin Carter of Midland. “I understand the reasoning and good intentions, but it’s stupid if you already have health care,” said Carter. “I have to get it; I don’t like I have to get it, but I can’t break the law. It will just be more taxes we have to pay,” said Carter.

If you’re already insured, you might not see a change, and if you’re under 26, you can remain under your parents insurance. Americans earning lower than 400 percent poverty level may get free or low cost health insurance through their state’s health insurance marketplace according to Obamacarefacts.com.

Some people are worried about the new law taking away more than it’s giving away, like 45-year-old Amy Wolfe from Bay City.

“It’s not affordable. A lot of people now are struggling as it is; they can’t afford it,” said Wolfe. “Where my family works, they’re talking about letting people go,” said Wolfe, who said she has family in the medical field working as physical therapists.

Since the Oct. 1 website glitch on HealthCare.gov, people seem to be reluctant to use it to sign up, but numbers are increasing as of March 1; over 5.2 million people signed up and in February over 144,000 signed up in Michigan.

“The website was a joke. I called the 800 number and an automated person said they would call me back; it’s going on two weeks now,” said Wolfe, who said she is uninsured and unhappy with the website.

Even the insured, like 30-year-old Jennifer Kroll of Midland, who is a Delta College medical student, thinks Obamacare is less than affordable.

“It won’t help people because they’re being penalized for not having it, and people won’t want to go because it won’t pay for co-pays or surgeries,” said Kroll. “It’s making our jobs harder.”12