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Affordable Care Act number doubles in St. Lawrence County, Medicaid enrollment triples

Posted 11/29/15

By JIMMY LAWTON The number of St. Lawrence County residents who have signed up for insurance on the New York Health Exchange more than doubled from 2014 to 2015, according to a report provided by the …

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Affordable Care Act number doubles in St. Lawrence County, Medicaid enrollment triples

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON

The number of St. Lawrence County residents who have signed up for insurance on the New York Health Exchange more than doubled from 2014 to 2015, according to a report provided by the state.

The New York Health Exchange is the state’s answer to the Affordable Care Act, which allows people to search for and purchase health insurance through a marketplace. The plan is often referred as “Obamacare,” the federal health care initiative that aims to reduce the number of uninsured Americans and reduce health care costs.

In 2014, 3,633 residents of the county had signed up for the exchange. In 2015, that number rose to 7,714.

The largest gains for newly insured were through Medicaid signups, which rose from 1,800 to in 2014 to 5,419 people in 2015.

Kerry Tallon of the St. Lawrence Health Initiative, a “navigator” who helps guide people through the insurance purchasing process, said that from 2014 to 2015, she noticed the increase in people signing up.

“My experience has been that the first year, people were hesitant to come in and apply because of what they heard about the Affordable Care Act or because they had applied for Medicaid in the past and had been told that they make too much money to qualify,” she said. “As people came in to see us and word got out that the guidelines have been expanded in NYS we saw more people inquiring and as a result a higher enrollment rate.”

While the largest increase in signups were for Medicaid, other forms of subsidized insurance also saw significant jumps.

The number of St. Lawrence County residents who signed up for Child Health Plus insurance rose from 327 in 2014 to 751 in 2015.

The number of people who purchased insurance on the exchange also increased, but at a much lower rate from 1,302 in 2014 to 1,544. The NY Health Exchange allows customers to receive income-based tax credit for purchasing insurance.

In St. Lawrence County, residents are able to purchase insurance from three providers. Of the 1,544 residents who purchased insurance, 897 chose a plan from Fidelis Care, 357 purchased Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and 290 purchased MVP Health Care plans.

One possible factor pushing more people to enroll are the penalties, which have steepened over the past few years. The penalties for 2016 will be $695 per person or 2.5 percent of their adjusted gross income, if that number is higher than $695.

For those who are uninsured for just part of the year, 1/12 of the yearly penalty applies to each month he or she remains uninsured. Those uninsured for less than three months don’t have to make a payment.

But Kerry said she isn’t sure the penalties are driving people to sign up.

“In terms of the penalties, I'm not so sure that it is a reason for the increase in the number of people receiving Medicaid but it is a motivator for people to seek out information about all of the assistance there is available to obtain affordable healthcare,” she said.