Bob Farnsworth, a self-employed builder in Machias, knows the future of the Affordable Care Act is profoundly uncertain. But the embattled health reform law has provided the first affordable health coverage of his adult life, and he was enthusiastically prepared for the sign-up period for this year that kicked off Wednesday.
“Once you’re in the system, you’re able to think in terms of actually getting health care,” the 61-year-old said. “Without it, I would never have even considered getting a colonoscopy, for example. I’ve also gotten the physical therapy I needed and some cardiology care.”
Before the ACA, “anecdotally, I would hear people say they were paying $1,000 a month or $750 a month or something like that,” he said. “None of those numbers were ever going to work for me.”
But with the ACA, also called Obamacare, Farnsworth pays just $130 per month for his plan, with a subsidy of close to $800 that covers the balance. He’s still responsible for an annual deductible of about $2,500, and he pays tax on the value of the subsidy.
The County is pleased to feature content from our sister company, Bangor Daily News. To read the rest of “Despite political uncertainty, Mainers urged to shop Obamacare plans as enrollment window opens,” an article by contributing Bangor Daily News staff writer Meg Haskell, please follow this link to the BDN online.
