A SEARHC patient benefits staffer will be in Wrangell Monday through Thursday, Nov. 27-30, to assist people who have questions about health insurance and need help signing up for low-cost coverage through the Affordable Care Act federally operated online marketplace.
The annual enrollment period is open through Jan. 15, but people need to sign up by Dec. 15 for their coverage to start Jan. 1, according to Susan Briles, the SEARHC patient health benefits manager in Sitka.
One of her colleagues, Hillary Russom, comes to Wrangell twice a year to assist people with their health benefits questions, and will be taking appointments for Nov. 27-30 at the Wrangell Medical Center.
People can call the Wrangell clinic’s main number at 907-874-7000 to schedule an in-person appointment with Russom, or to set up a phone appointment if that is more convenient, said Randi Yancey, medical office coordinator at the clinic.
Briles said anyone who is unable to meet or talk with Russom while she is in town can call the SEARHC patient benefits office in Sitka for assistance, 907-966-8684.
“We have been assisting people in Wrangell for several years,” Briles said. In addition to the federal subsidized Affordable Care Act policies with private insurance companies, “tribal citizens can get the Tribally Sponsored Health Insurance Program, where the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and SEARHC actually pay their premiums through the health insurance marketplace.”
Monthly premiums for Alaskans using the federal health insurance marketplace are set to rise about 16% in 2024 — coming on top of an 18% increase in the previous year.
Common questions among first-time users of the federal marketplace are about price and how the subsidies work, Briles said. “The subsidies are based on your age, location, household makeup and income. The biggest misconception is it will be too expensive. We can easily work up an estimate on price before we begin the enrollment process.”
For those who earn a salary or wage, the subsidy is calculated on income before taxes, but for a self-employed person, like many fishermen, the determining number is pre-tax net income, or money made after expenses are subtracted, she explained.
President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in March 2010. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act increased federal subsidies for policies on the marketplace, “making health care more cost effective for those now signing up,” Briles said. The expanded subsidies are guaranteed through 2025.
“So it’s a good time to buy health insurance,” she said. “As a medical consumer, what your level of need is should determine what level of plan you get.”
In addition to Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield, Moda also offers policies on the Alaska marketplace.
There are 16 plans available on the marketplace for Alaskans, arranged in three tiers: bronze, silver and gold. Bronze plans are quite cheap, often under $5 a month after the subsidy kicks in but come with a high deductible and out-of-pocket maximum payment. Silver plans include some premium reductions that benefit lower-income people. Gold plans come with lower deductibles and out-of-pocket fees and cover doctor visits and sometimes a portion of dental care.
For a hypothetical 38-year-old man making $55,000 a year, a gold plan would cost $230 monthly. The least expensive Premera bronze plan would cost $16.58 a month, but has a $7,500 annual deductible, which means the person would be on the hook to pay $7,500 for treatment before insurance kicks in.
In the event of a large medical bill, SEARHC offers a financial aid program for those with low incomes, a program administered through Briles’ office.
People also can sign up on their own online at healthcare.gov, though Briles cautioned people to be wary of scams and only use the official federal website.
And she reminds people who sign up online to “take a picture with your phone, have that username and password, because we have people that lose those every single year and it becomes a real hassle.”
Garland Kennedy of the Sitka Sentinel contributed reporting for this story.
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