Darlene Hawes lost her health insurance about a year after her husband died in 2012.
Hawes, 55, is from Charlotte, N.C. She ended up going without insurance for a few years, but in 2015 she bought coverage on HealthCare.gov, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, with the help of a big subsidy.
鈥淚 was born with heart trouble and I also had, in 2003, open-heart surgery,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 had breast-cancer surgery. I have a lot of medical conditions, so I needed insurance badly.鈥�
After the results of the 2016 election, she was scared she鈥檇 lose her insurance immediately. For years, Republicans have vowed to scrap the health care law. The new Congress is working on a plan to undo the Affordable Care Act. But they have not settled on how to replace the health care structure that Obamacare created.
Hawes is one of North Carolinians who relies on the Obamacare marketplace for health insurance. She was relieved after she talked with an enrollment specialist last month who told her she can renew her policy for 2017.
鈥淚鈥檓 like, 鈥極h my Lord, did she just say that?鈥欌�� Hawes said聽with a laugh. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just like a whole load of burdens just fell off of my back because all the years I haven鈥檛 been covered since my husband passed away 鈥� I don鈥檛 want to be sad again. I was very sad.鈥�
Most health care researchers and policy analysts agree not much is likely to change in 2017.
鈥淓ven the Republican Congress in one of their most to repeal [the law]聽put in a two-year transition period, so that the premium subsidies and the other provisions of the law that are fundamental wouldn鈥檛 be repealed for a couple of years,鈥� said , a research professor at Georgetown University鈥檚 Health Policy Institute.
Some Republican leaders have said聽repeal should happen immediately with a transition period to come up with a replacement. Still, the CEO of HealthCare.gov, Kevin Counihan, said he can鈥檛 guarantee coverage will remain. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my place to promise anything about a new administration,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut what I can tell you is not only are we moving forward, but our enrollment is higher than expected.鈥� At the end of 2016, enrollment for 2017 plans spiked and as of the end of December, North Carolina had the for 2017 plans among states using HealthCare.gov.
r with Legal Services of Southern Piedmont is helping people sign up. She said about a third of them have asked about the election.
鈥淏ut generally when we鈥檙e calling, people are really excited to have their appointment and come in and look at the plans for 2017,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think they鈥檙e mostly interested in how much they鈥檙e going to be paying.鈥�
Darlene Hawes (left) and her enrollment counselor, Julieanne Taylor, outside the Mecklenburg County Health Department in Charlotte, N.C. (Michael Tomsic/WFAE)
In some ways, North Carolina is in tough shape. Premiums are going up and insurance companies have dropped out, leaving as the only insurer in 95 percent of the state.
Blue Cross actuary said it鈥檚 simply an expensive market that has older, sicker people who cost more to cover.
鈥淭here is continuing demand for services and continuing high utilization within this block of business,鈥� he said.
What he calls 鈥渢his block of business鈥� means the customers who buy insurance on the exchange. It鈥檚 a small slice of the overall health insurance market, because most people are covered through work or Medicare. The overwhelming majority of consumers who buy coverage on the exchange get federal subsidies that .
Still, it鈥檚 been a turbulent market for consumers and insurers. Over the past two years, Blue Cross has lost $400 million in North Carolina on that part of its business.
Amid the post-election uncertainty, Tajlili said Blue Cross is committed to offering plans in 2017.
鈥�2017 will be another pivotal year for us as we look at the individual market,鈥� he said.
Federal researchers have said that North Carolina鈥檚 decision not to expand Medicaid in its ACA marketplace, and the new Democratic governor of the state, Roy Cooper, n聽in recent days.
One of Blue Cross鈥� new customers will be Sara Kelly Jones, 46, who works at Letty鈥檚 restaurant in Charlotte, N.C. She recognizes Obamacare isn鈥檛 perfect. But before the law, health insurance was a financial vise that kept tightening on her.
鈥淚 could not afford it at all,鈥� she said. 鈥淓very year it was going up $100 to $120, $150 a month. It got to the point where it was going to be at least $200 more a month than my mortgage.鈥�
But under Obamacare, Jones qualifies for a subsidy. Her premium will go up with Blue Cross, but she said she can afford it with that help.
Jones said the political debate over the law ignores people like her.
鈥淚鈥檓 terrified,鈥� she said. She鈥檚 worried about the Republican Congress鈥� pledge to scrap and replace Obamacare without presenting a detailed proposal. 聽鈥淲hat on Earth are you going to do with all these people, myself included, that are counting on this?鈥�
This story is part of a reporting partnership with NPR, WFAE and . You can follow Michael Tomsic on Twitter: .