Wednesday, October 2, 2013

As Obamacare starts, patients in Maryland community clinics are eager to sign up

Blog #1

1. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/as-obamacare-starts-patients-in-maryland-community-clinics-are-eager-to-sign-up/2013/10/01/e0ccb826-2ac8-11e3-8ade-a1f23cda135e_story.html

2. Category of issue: Healthcare

3. Level of issue: State

4. This article concerns lower income people who currently do not have health insurance and who may be eligible for medicaid and getting help in finding the right affordable insurance for them. Navigators are working across Maryland to find people who are uninsured and to help them figure out their options, and if they are ready sign them u online or with a paper application.

5. How does this affect individuals/families?: This greatly affects every low income person in the state of Maryland. Most of them have no idea about any of the health insurance plans, they just know that a law has been passed and they have to get insurance. Some of them can get insurance from their work but it is just too expensive for them to be able to afford. For them to be able to go to these clinics and have them talk about their options is greatly beneficial for them and they are interested in learning more. Some of these people have been put in situations where they are hospitalized and don't have insurance therefore can't afford to pay the bill, but by these people evaluating their yearly income they can tell them what they are eligible for which makes the patients very happy and relieved.

6. My views: I think that this is awesome that the state of Maryland is helping their patients by recommending them to a healthcare plan that is right for them. Some of these low income people are just as hard working as people who make a lot of money so they deserve to have health insurance that is affordable for them as well. Some of these people don't even speak English and don't really know whats going on with this who healthcare thing they just know they have to get it but they are worried of not being able to afford it. So going to these clinics and having them tell them their options helps the patients out a lot, because if it wasn't for the clinics they might not of known about these plans or even how to apply for them. After the Maryland's health insurance exchanged opened and they started talking to more people about health insurance plans so many people started becoming curious to learn more and book appointments to get the details. You just never know when there is going to be an emergency and you don't have health insurance, then next thing you know you are billed this outrageous amount of money that you cannot afford to pay. So even though they are making everyone get health insurance at least the low income individuals have a way to get cheaper insurance because it is not fair to them to have to pay a ridiculous amount of insurance when their income is only around $20,000 a year. I hope the state of Maryland influences other states to do something similar with their clinics too, it really help to get the word out to individuals who don't know anything about this and to be able to be covered by some sort of insurance in case of an emergency where they normally wouldn't be able to afford the bill uninsured. Overall everyone who got offered these opportunities seemed very happy and excited that they have something affordable to them and don't have to worry about not being able to afford any type of health insurance anymore.

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