To the millions of Californians who obtained health insurance as a result of the Affordable Care Act, know this: Despite the election of Donald Trump, who has promised to repeal the health law, nothing is going to happen to your coverage immediately.
In fact, open enrollment for Covered California plans continues through January聽31 despite the election outcome.
鈥淒on鈥檛 panic. The open enrollment period is set,鈥 says Myles Pappadato, an insurance agent based in Valencia whose firm, , has about 600 clients with Covered California policies. He fielded about a dozen calls the morning after the election from worried consumers.
鈥淒on鈥檛 make any decisions based on speculation,鈥 he adds.
Beyond that, uncertainty reigns.
In California, two major Obamacare initiatives brought health insurance to millions of people: About 1.3 million of you have plans through , the state health insurance exchange. And about 3.7 million others joined , the state鈥檚 Medicaid program for low-income residents, after it expanded its eligibility criteria.
It鈥檚 not yet clear how Trump and the Republican-dominated Congress will seek to pick apart Obamacare next year 鈥斅爋r how long that could take. An outright repeal because it would require 60 votes in the U.S. Senate to overcome a Democratic filibuster, which means the Republicans would need the support of at least eight Democrats.
Republicans could use budget procedures instead to kill critical portions of the law, including the funding for Medicaid expansion in states like California and the federal tax credits that lower premiums for most Covered California enrollees.
Ask Emily鈥淚f the subsidies go away, the vast majority of folks are not going to be able to afford their coverage. They鈥檙e struggling as it is,鈥 Pappadato says.
Officials from Covered California, Medi-Cal and the state Health and Human Services Agency are scrambling to figure out , but the outlook isn鈥檛 good.
鈥淚 cannot provide false comfort,鈥 says Anthony Wright, executive director of the advocacy group . 鈥淭his is a real risk for coverage that millions of Californians depend on.鈥
Lyn Jutronich, of San Diego, came close to tears when describing the anxiety she felt before Obamacare. Jutronich, 44, has three children under the age of 12 who are now covered by Medi-Cal. She and her husband, a contractor, have a Covered California plan and receive tax credits.
鈥淲hen my child got sick or injured, I used to ask myself, 鈥楬ow am I going to pay for this?鈥 That burden was completely relieved鈥 by Obamacare, she says.
鈥淭he thought of having to go back to that is just shattering.鈥
Before the law, Jutronich went without insurance for more than a year because she had preexisting medical conditions. At that time, insurers were not required to cover people who had previous medical problems, or they could charge them significantly more.
The premiums for the family鈥檚 insurance聽鈥 with her included 鈥斅爓ould have been about $3,000 to $4,000 a month before Obamacare, so they opted to buy a plan for the kids and her husband, because of his dangerous job.
鈥淚鈥檓 terrified that in the near future I will have to go without insurance again, and that I will again have that horrible 鈥楧o I really need to take my child to the emergency room today or can it wait?鈥 question looming in my head,鈥 Jutronich says.
Covered California鈥檚 executive director, Peter Lee, wants to reassure consumers, saying it鈥檚 business as usual for now.
鈥淧eople have some reasonable questions and those questions will take time to answer,鈥 Lee says. 鈥淲e will be working very hard to get the word out that the subsidies are available and the rules remain in place under the law.鈥
The Department of Health Care Services, which administers Medi-Cal, says 鈥渢here are no immediate changes鈥 to that program. It did not offer advice to Medi-Cal enrollees.
But Jen Flory, a senior attorney at the , says Medi-Cal expansion enrollees should 鈥渇eel free to use their Medi-Cal. If they qualify and haven鈥檛 applied, they should still apply. No new law has been passed.鈥
And if you鈥檝e been waiting to get a medical procedure or delaying an exam, 鈥渄on鈥檛 put anything off,鈥 Flory suggests.
State Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, chair of the , also wants Californians to keep enrolling in the coverage they鈥檙e eligible for and using the coverage they have.
鈥淐ontinue doing what you鈥檝e been doing. You have health insurance. Use it as you need it,鈥 he says.
Hernandez expects California lawmakers to do 鈥渆verything we can to protect patients to make sure they have access to health care.鈥
Could that include finding state money to replace any federal funding that may be cut?
鈥淲e have to ask ourselves the billion-dollar question: Does the state take on that responsibility?鈥 Hernandez says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a discussion the state Legislature will have to have, but we鈥檙e not there yet.鈥
Wright, of Health Access, urges Californians to advocate for themselves in the meantime.
鈥淯ntil something happens, people should sign up for the benefits and then join the political fight to keep them,鈥 he says.
Jeffrey Kolsin, a certified public accountant in Fountain Valley, agrees that consumers need to speak up.
Kolsin, 61, and his wife receive tax credits for their Covered California policy, and the cost of their monthly premiums would double if federal funding were cut.
鈥淲hat happens to people like myself who have depended on those tax credits, and all of a sudden they鈥檙e gone and now you have this huge bill?鈥 he asks. 鈥淗ow do you pay for it?鈥
He plans to share his opinion with lawmakers, asking them not to repeal or gut Obamacare without coming up with a replacement plan first. He wants others to do the same.
鈥淲rite to the existing and new Congress members and Trump,鈥 Kolsin says. 鈥淔ill their mailboxes, basically saying 鈥榃hatever you do with the Affordable Care Act, do not kill it until the day the new law goes into effect.鈥欌
This story was produced by , which publishes , an editorially independent service of the .
