What Obamacare? Meet 4 People Choosing To Remain Uninsured
Despite a surge in enrollment in the two weeks before the April 15 deadline to enroll for insurance under the health law, many more Californians have not signed up.
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Despite a surge in enrollment in the two weeks before the April 15 deadline to enroll for insurance under the health law, many more Californians have not signed up.
In Seattle, an unlikely collaboration provides weekend and after-hours care for patients who in the past had turned to hospital emergency rooms for non-emergency treatments.
Teresa Martinez, 62, from East Los Angeles makes $10,000 a year working as a hairdresser in a Koreatown salon. With her modest income she is likely to be eligible for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act's Medi-Cal expansion.
About 800,000 people in California are presumed to be eligible for the newly expanded program but lack final approval. For a Los Angeles hairdresser and others like her, that means medical appointments are on hold.
A 39-year-old Philadelphia day care teacher, made three monthly premium payments at more than three times the subsidized rate just to make sure she was covered. And her insurance has still been canceled three times
Some of Missouri's working poor have had no dental coverage since benefits were cut in 2005.
Doctors who use the model say they can keep their costs down by avoiding the bureaucracy of the health insurance system.
But experts say it's too early to draw conclusions about the impact on premiums.
Trillium Community Health Plan is scrambling to take care of many more new customers than it expected in the first months of Affordable Care Act coverage.
Teledentistry experiment in California aims to bring care to needy patients in schools and nursing homes. Consulting with dentists over the Internet, hygienists and dental assistants offer preventive treatment and education.
Montana's health insurance co-op is encouraged by its strong enrollment and plans to expand into Idaho next year. But some caution that it will be difficult for co-ops to grow beyond a niche player.
People who chose to not enroll under the health law or could not afford coverage have limited options for care.
Colorado officials on both sides of the aisle are arguing over the effectiveness of the $8 million marketing spend the state's insurance marketplace.
But some residents remain unconvinced they need coverage, and others say they can't afford it even with financial help.
Largely low-income and minority California State University students want health insurance but many are afraid they can't afford it. Outreach workers are scrambling to sign them up.
Largely low-income and minority California State University students want health insurance but many are afraid they can't afford it. Outreach workers are scrambling to sign them up.
State is one of a few nationally to offer insurance to low-income youths whose parents crossed the border illegally or overstayed visas.
Even estranged spouses must generally file joint returns to get subsidies for health coverage, putting them at potential risk.
But the number of enrollees, especially those between 18 and 34, continues to lag expectations.
Drivers are targeted because few have health coverage.
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