26-year-old Sara Tangdall teaches part-time as an adjunct English composition professor in the Omaha-metro area. Because she does not have a full-time position, she was unable to get insurance through her job, so she decided to check out the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Having insurance for Sara is critical because she has severe asthma and allergies and requires prescriptions that, without insurance, would cost her several hundred dollars each month.
Sara signed up for coverage through Healthcare.gov in February and had no problem with the website. “It was pretty easy to navigate, and I really liked the compare plans feature.” She was especially impressed that each plan included a hyperlink to the private insurance company’s website that provided full details of the plan and which doctors were in-network.
“I was really pleased with the plans I was offered,” she said.
Ultimately, she was able to enroll in a plan with great prescription coverage. She pays $154 monthly after a $106 tax credit. Her co-pay for her prescriptions is just 10%–never more than $10 for her.
“This is a really big deal for me personally and professionally,” she said “I can focus on teaching and getting my professional portfolio developed and not have to worry about health insurance. It allows me to do what I love and what I’m good at.”
The Affordable Care Act has opened up opportunities for people like Sara nationwide to do jobs they love–even if this means they won’t have insurance offered through an employer.
“How much innovation have we lost out on in this country because people have had to get traditional full-time jobs in order to gain access to health insurance,” Sara asks. In this way, the Affordable Care Act is a step forward for encouraging innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship.