Family First Health helps patients navigate Obamacare
Photo by Jason Plotkin — Daily Record/Sunday News
JoAnne Natale of York Have becomes frustrated while attempting to sign up for health care during one of Family First Health’s enrollment sessions on HealthCare.gov on Monday. Natale is a cancer survivor currently without health insurance.
They are called “navigators.”
Officially known as “Certified Application Counsellors,” they work in a conference room on the third floor of Family First Health‘s South George Street office, helping people find their way through what have been portrayed as the stormy waters of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. They don’t judge whether the law is good or not. They don’t debate the political points of the law. They are working with the nuts and bolts, helping those who need health insurance sign up for it before the March 31 deadline.
On Monday afternoon, they assisted three people in working through the application process. The morning session had gone well, with no glitches. That is typical, they said. Updates to the website in December have made the system work well.
But still, according to Family First’s Tammy Wampler, “the system may have issues with slowness on occasion.”
And that was the case Monday afternoon. The system was moving with Friday afternoon Route 30 speed, which is to say, a crawl. One applicant said it reminded her of the days of dial-up internet connections. That wasn’t the only problem. Applicants worked their way through the lengthy application only to be kicked back to the beginning as they approached the end.
“It was working fine this morning,” said Arlene Feliciano, one of the navigators. What caused the system to bog down was a mystery.
Keep reading this story on ydr.com
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If you’re uninsured and still need to enroll,the guide will also help you explore your coverage options, the costs, and how to navigate the Health Insurance Marketplace. Open enrollment ends on March 31st 2014, so now’s the time to educate yourself about the plan that’s right for you and sign up.
