Triad Residents Learn More About New Health Insurance Exchanges

Online enrollment in the new health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act began on Tuesday.

More than 1 million North Carolinians are expected to sign up for subsidized health insurance under the new federal law.

Matt Wright is an agent with Blue Bridge Benefits in Winston-Salem. He has a kiosk set up at Hanes Mall for the next few months to help explain the different healthcare options. He says he’s seeing a lot of foot traffic.

“A lot of folks have questions and want to get information about the rates. Most folks are very interested in looking at how much of a subsidy they will receive based on their income and family makeup, however at this point in time, some of them are not quite ready yet to complete the enrollment,” says Wright.

Under the new law, most adults under 65 will be required to have health insurance or pay a fine. Policy experts say for the healthcare plan to have long-term success, 40% of the 7 million people expected to enroll the first year need to be young and healthy to help mitigate the costs of the chronically ill.

In the meantime, uninsured residents in North Carolina will soon have another tool to help them enroll in the new healthcare plans. They will have access to a statewide hotline beginning October 14, which will help connect them to a navigator.