The December 15th deadline to enroll into health insurance is fast approaching. Acting Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman is worried that the uncertain future of the Affordable Care Act could prevent people from signing up. 

Altman explained, “That’s my biggest fear is that people don’t know what’s here and what’s happening and they are confused by the news headlines. But, for 2018, the Affordable Care Act is still law. The marketplace is still here so for this year, enroll in coverage.”

CNN reports that across the country last year at this time there were 2.1 million people enrolled in marketplace insurance plans. Right now, it’s at 2.8 million, however people have 36 fewer days to sign up.

Altman said, “We’re very quickly running out of time. So that’s why we want people to know what’s happening, what their options are, where they can go to shop, compare plans and where they can go for help.” 

When President Trump took office, he ordered to stop funding the caution reduction program. It’s a part of the ACA that helps people pay for the out of pocket expenses that come with insurance. That program still exists, but, without federal funding companies have had to increase premiums for the plans that include the program. With those changes, Altman encourages people to shop around for the best plan. 

She detailed, “So, as that plan cost goes up, so does your tax credit, that means your buying power for other plans is more. So bronze plans that have higher cost sharing may be free, and gold plans that have even lower cost sharing could be the same price or lower than the silver plan that you might have had in past years.”

The Pennsylvania Department of Insurance offers a way to compare plans while making sure all of your medical needs are covered. That can be found online here.