(Photo courtesy www.ilga.gov)
By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Friday is the last day for people who don’t get insurance through their job, and who are not enrolled in Medicaid, to sign up for Obamacare benefits.
Illinois Department of Insurance Director Jennifer Hammer said the push is on to get as many people as possible to sign up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act exchange.
In Illinois, a relatively small number of people will buy Obamacare insurance.
About half of all Illinoisans get their health insurance through work. In Illinois, there also are nearly three million people on Medicaid, which includes almost 700,000 young men added under Obamacare.
Last year, Illinois had about half that number buy private insurance through the exchange.
“Last year we had about 356,000 enrollees in the Affordable Care Act through the exchange,” Hammer said. “We’re hoping that numbers are consistent again this year. We’re up to around 350,000 enrollees. We won’t know the final numbers until the enrollment period closes.”
State Sen. Dave Syverson, R-Rockford, said the small number of enrollees is just part of the problem. He is also questioning what kind of coverage people are getting and what they’re paying.
“The costs, for most families, are going to be between $1,000 and $2,000 a month for a plan with a high deductible,” Syverson said. “And a very small network of providers that you can go to.”
Syverson said most of the people who’ve benefited from Obamacare in Illinois, and across the country, are the folks who’ve enrolled in Medicaid, as opposed to middle class families who are still struggling to pay for skyrocketing health insurance and healthcare costs.
“If you’re low income, [Obamacare] is overly generous,” Syverson said, referring to new Medicaid enrollees and those receiving subsidies for private insurance. “We have some families literally paying less than five dollars a month for coverage. Then we have others who are paying $900, $1,000 a month for single coverage with a $3,000 or $4,000 deductible.”
Hammer said Illinois’ Obamacare website, GetCoveredIllinois.Gov, will enroll people through 11 p.m. Friday.
