By Carol McCracken  (Post # 2, 247)

Five years after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, Maine is one of the most successful states in the nation in enrolling people in affordable health plans.  After the most recent open enrollment period that ended on February 15, 2015, Maine had enrolled 60% of people who were eligible and of those, 89% were eligible for tax subsidies to help cover the cost of their premiums.  Only Vermont and Florida beat these numbers and both states did so well with significantly more federal funding to promote enrollment than was available to Maine according to a press release from the Maine Health Access Foundation.

While the next open enrollment period does not begin until November 15, 2015, there are still options for people to enroll throughout the year.  A variety of “qualifying life events” will allow Mainers to enroll outside of the open enrollment periods including getting married, having a baby or  changing jobs.  And for those individuals and families who were unaware or didn’t understand that there would be a fee for not enrolling in coverage, they will also have an opportunity to purchase health insurance coverage until April 30th.  For more information and to find out if you qualify for a special enrollment period go to www.healthcare.gov.

The Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHaf):  MEHaf is Maine’s largest private nonprofit ealth foundation dedicated to promoting access to qualify health care.  Please visit www.mehaf.org for more information.