Insurance Coverage Enables Preventative Care
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on Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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Janette Hagen, Spencer Hospital’s director of patient accounts, has been helping people explore coverage options through the national healthcare marketplace since the Affordable Care Act opened the exchange in the fall of 2013. It’s been a rewarding experience as she’s help individuals without insurance coverage find affordable plans, enabling them to seek needed health care services.
“I particularly remember a gal I helped last year,” Hagen recalls. “She was a single mom with a teenage daughter. Her company offered an insurance plan, yet financially she couldn’t swing her share of the premiums so she and her daughter went without coverage, avoiding doctor visits unless an emergency arose. Because she didn’t have insurance, those emergency visits had also created debt and extra stress. Through the ACA marketplace, we were able to find affordable insurance coverage for her and her daughter. She came back later to express her gratitude. She’d gone to a physician for a physical and discovered she had diabetes and was successfully and proactively managing her health.”
With the enrollment deadline of Dec. 15th approaching, Hagen encourages people who don’t have coverage or are facing high premium increases, to explore their options. “Contact an insurance company or talk to a local insurance agent about possible choices,” she encouraged. “Our financial assisters are here to help those who wish to look at the ACA marketplace. We can review their plan to determine if there is a better option for them with better tax credits than they currently are receiving.”
Hagen explained that in northwest Iowa, Coventry left the ACA marketplace and Medica remains as the only company regionally offering coverage under the ACA marketplace. “For those who have made appointments with us, most were able to find comparable Medica plans,” Hagen said. “And, for those who had a plan simply renew, sometimes we’re able to find plans for them which offer better tax credits, resulting in lower payments. My thought is why not check out the possibilities?”
Spencer Hospital, Avera Medical Group Spencer, and Abben Cancer Center have personnel trained to help people with the ACA enrollment process as well as for those who qualify, enrollment in Medicaid. Spencer Hospital’s financial counselors can be reached at (712) 264-6259 or (712) 264-6128.
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