Some consumers give the Affordable Care Act glowing reviews.
Phyllis Longshore, 62, who moved to Charlotte in 2012, had been without insurance for about four years because she was unemployed or her employers didn’t provide insurance. Now, she has coverage that costs her nothing.
With a pension, Social Security and a part-time job, Longshore earns about $25,000 a year. She qualified for a federal premium subsidy of $542 a month, which covers the entire premium for her policy with Coventry Health Care of the Carolinas.
“It’s almost like Christmas,” Longshore said. “It’s been a long four years of wondering what I was going to do.”
Pat Edwards, 62, of Charlotte works two part-time jobs in food service and earns about $15,000 a year. She qualified for a subsidy that allowed her to buy insurance for $680 a month, but she pays only $77. “Now I can go to the doctor,” said Edwards, who had been without insurance for four years. “I feel safe and secure.”
And Kimberly Tonyan, 41, a Charlotte native, also bought health insurance for the first time in four years.
A single mother of twin daughters, Tonyan recently finished a degree in applied science at ECPI University, but she hasn’t been able to find full-time work as a medical assistant. Her annual income is $20,000, mostly from part-time work as a caregiver. She qualified for a federal subsidy of $279, and with that, she pays only $28 per month.
“Now I can sleep at night,” she said. “I believe that people deserve health insurance. It shouldn’t be a political issue. It should be a human issue.”
Read more here: charlotteobserver.com
Read more here: charlotteobserver.com |
