Floridians sign up for Obamacare unsure if program will survive under Trump – Tampa Bay Times

More than 12 million Americans received health insurance through the Affordable Care Act in 2017, when a Republican bill to repeal it fell two votes short in the Senate.

That's all 21.4 million Americans currently have insurance Through the Federal Marketplace Program, the program's future is once again in doubt with Donald Trump's return to the White House and Republican majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate.

Expanded federal subsidies put in place during the pandemic to make insurance more affordable, and in some cases free, for millions of low-income Americans are set to expire at the end of 2025. Unless extended by a new Congress, it is estimated to expire at the end of 2025. 4 million people could lose health insurance by 2026That's estimated by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

There is a risk of rule changes adopted in may This is the first time since the creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012 that undocumented immigrants who arrived in the United States as children but are eligible for benefits such as schooling, This made it possible to apply the Affordable Care Act in 2017.

The sweeping changes to the program will have a big impact on Florida, which has 4.2 million residents enrolled this year, the most in the nation. The 2025 enrollment period has already begun, and program administrators are fielding questions from Floridians who fear their insurance will be discontinued, said a nonprofit based at the University of South Florida that coordinates enrollment across the state. said Songenes Jacobs, director of the for-profit organization Florida Covering Kids & Families. .

For now, the response is that it is business as usual.

“Despite some of the uncertainty consumers are experiencing, we continue to register, educate and support consumers,” Jacobs said.

Since taking effect in 2014, the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, has made health insurance affordable for more Americans by creating health insurance markets and subsidizing premiums. I've made it possible. The law also provided protections for pre-existing health conditions and allowed parents to keep their children on health insurance until age 26. The program, widely regarded as President Barack Obama's signature policy, is hated by Republicans, who label it as: Bureaucratic, expensive and no options.

In addition to the failed vote to repeal the program, the Trump administration also shortened the consumer enrollment period to six weeks in 2017, cut the program's marketing budget by $90 million, and reduced the number of navigators (trained and supportive labor reduced funding to the government by $25 million. People choose and subscribe to insurance plans.

Trump said little about health care during this year's campaign. When asked by an ABC host during September's presidential debate if there were any plans to replace the show, he said, “There is a concept of a plan.”

Florida Covering Kids & Families will receive $13.7 million in outreach, education and enrollment assistance this year, making it the largest grant in the nation. Jacobs said the company will provide navigators in all 67 Florida counties during the two-month enrollment period, and the service will be available in more than 100 languages.

The program's popularity will reduce Florida's uninsured rate to about 10% by 2023, according to data from KFF, a health policy nonprofit formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Among the immigrants already registered for next year are many who became eligible under new federal rules, especially in South Florida, Jacobs said. Previously, people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (often referred to as “Dreamers”) were not considered “legally present.” That means they are not eligible for federally funded health care programs such as Medicaid or the Affordable Care Act's marketplace programs.

“It's very important and important that these 'Dreamers' have the opportunity to get coverage,” Jacobs said.

Health insurance is subsidized for the majority of people who sign up for marketplace plans. Without it, insurance premiums could increase by hundreds of dollars a month, said Katie Rodders Turner, executive director of the Family Health Care Foundation, a nonprofit organization with enrollment in the Tampa Bay area. Ta.

Rodders-Turner said the program is popular with the self-employed and people who don't have insurance through work. It also benefited people who retired early and needed health insurance until they turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare.

“Without subsidies, the number of uninsured people could rise even more,” she says.

Dawn McAlpin, a Valco retiree, is one of those who wants to get insurance through the Federal Marketplace System until she turns 65.

Now 63, she has no cartilage in her knees and requires constant physical therapy. Her Marketplace health plan pays for up to 35 sessions per year. A retired teaching assistant, she does not pay monthly premiums.

“I couldn't afford insurance or pay for X-rays or MRIs,” she said.

Melanie Korpi, a St. Petersburg resident, runs her own business advising companies on online education and has been registered for several years.

When she enrolled in 2025, she learned that it might be the last year she would receive the subsidy.

“That's alarming,” she said. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to afford my own health insurance.”

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Registration for the Affordable Care Act of 2025

Enrollment on the federal marketplace for the Affordable Care Act of 2025 will be open until January 15th. To be eligible for coverage starting January 1, residents must register by December 15.

For registration assistance in Tampa Bay, please visit: www.familyhealthcarefdn.org Or call us at 813-995-7005.

For other areas in Florida, please log on www.coveringflorida.org Or call us at 877-813-9115.