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On Thursday, March 13, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) joined
local navigators to alert Northwest Ohioans that enrollment
for the 2014 health insurance marketplace will close at the
end of this month. More than 4.2 million Americans—and
nearly 79,000 Ohioans—are now healthier and better protected
as a part of the new marketplace. However, more than 193,000
Ohioans remain eligible for the marketplace, with more than
115,000 of them eligible to enroll with financial
assistance.
“The health law has already helped millions of Ohioans
receive quality care at an affordable price,” Brown said.
“But more than 193,000 Ohioans are still eligible for
enrollment in the health insurance marketplace. Each of
these Ohioans can receive valuable assistance from a health
care navigator. And most are eligible for financial
assistance. With only two weeks remaining before the
enrollment deadline, Ohioans should utilize these resources
in order to get covered, live healthier lives, and be better
protected.”
Before, during, and after Brown’s press conference at the
United Way of Greater Toledo, local navigators took
appointments and walk-in meetings to help local citizens
enroll in an affordable, high-quality health plan. Joining
Brown to help alert Ohioans was Brad Clark, director of the
Neighborhood Health Association Navigator Project; and Jan
Ruma, the executive director of Toledo/Lucas County CareNet,
which provides access to healthcare services for low-income
residents of Lucas County.
Also joining Brown to share her enrollment story was Toledo
resident, Peg Clancy. While she works as a nurse, Clancy is
not eligible for Medicare or for employer-based medical
insurance. She signed up for health care using the exchange
with the help of a navigator one mile from her home, and
qualified for a subsidy that lowers her premiums. Clancy now
has an affordable, high-quality health plan and continues to
see her preferred doctor.
The health law has already protected millions of Ohioans
like Clancy by ending lifetime caps on insurance coverage,
covering both children and adults with pre-existing
conditions, allowing young adults to stay on their parents’
insurance until their 26th birthday, offering free
preventive care in new private insurance plans, closing the
“donut hole” in drug prices for seniors, and providing tax
credits to small businesses to help them afford health
coverage for their employees.
Further, financial help is available for middle and
low-income individuals to enroll if they don’t have
meaningful employer-sponsored health coverage. This includes
a family of four with an annual income of below $94,200, and
single adults with an annual income below $45,960. For some
Americans, premiums will be nearly 14 percent lower in 2014
than previously expected, according to a recent report by
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). For an
individual in Ohio, the average monthly premium for the
lowest-cost silver plan is $304 and for the lowest cost
bronze plan is $263. States with the lowest premiums have
more than double the number of insurance companies offering
plans compared to states with the highest premiums. Ohio
consumers have an average of 46 health plans from which to
choose in the marketplace.
The health law also ensures that the dollars Ohioans pay for
health insurance are used for their medical care—rather than
for executive bonuses and ad campaigns. The law requires
that insurance companies spend at least 80 percent of the
premiums they collect from consumers on medical care. If
they don’t meet this goal, they must give consumers a
rebate. In Ohio, it is estimated that more than 6,300
Ohioans will benefit this year from $487,000 in rebates.
Ohio families have faced unchecked hikes in their health
insurance costs for years. But the law subjects insurance
companies to new scrutiny if they raise prices by more than
10 percent; and the health law provided the state of Ohio
$5.1 million to combat unjustifiable increases.
Brown, who declined Congressional health insurance for
nearly two decades—keeping a 1992 campaign promise to
decline a health plan until similar coverage is available to
all Americans—entered the marketplace during the 2014
enrollment period that started October 1, 2013 and ends
March 31, 2014.
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