Health Care Enrollments in 2015 Off Smoothly

Open enrollments on the federal health insurance exchange are said to have started smoothly. People now can sign up with benefits under the Affordable Care Act. Volunteers with Tennessee Health Care Campaign, set up locations across the area to assist consumers. Last year had seen a lot of technical problems- with enrollments going smoothly this year, coordinators expected people to enroll in large numbers.

"Health insurance is complex, as is computer stuff. Some people aren't familiar with that. So if you can get some help, I would get some help because people who work with it all the time know the ends and outs," said Laura Sell, Blount County region coordinator for Tennessee Health Care Campaign.

Tennessee Health Care Campaign usually have to help people who fall into the coverage gap, either they make too much money to qualify for TennCare or not enough to meet the requirements for subsidies on premiums through tax credits which make buying health covers on the federal exchange affordable.

Governor Bill Haslam turned down a TennCare expansion that would have allowed more people to have coverage. The Tennessee Health Care Campaign is encouraging people who find themselves in this situation to contact the governor and express their concerns. He said that he is working with federal health officials for ways to expand TennCare which is taking longer than he expected.

Reference: Leslie Ackerson