Obamacare 2018: Deadline close to sign up

Scroll to the bottom for information on how to sign up for health insurance.

New Jerseyans are signing up for health insurance through Obamacare at a faster pace than last year, figures show, even though many need to dig even deeper to pay for the plans.

The steady enrollment for 2018 is a sign that some consumers don't have the option to walk away if the price gets to be too high.

"I cannot afford to take a chance and not have health care," said Pat Zonsa, 53, of Brick, who saw premiums on a policy to cover herself and her son increase from $962 a month to $1,162 a month.

New Jerseyans who aren't covered through Medicare, Medicaid or their employer have until Dec. 15 to sign up for health insurance for 2018. 

The deadline comes as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, faces an uncertain future.

Watch the video above for more information about the enrollment period. 

President Donald Trump and the GOP's bid to repeal the law earlier this year failed. But they continue their quest to chip away at it; one element in the tax reform bill would eliminate the mandate that nearly all Americans must buy insurance or pay a tax penalty.

The Trump administration has never been a fan. It reduced the enrollment period to six weeks. It cut the marketing budget. It said it wouldn't enforce the mandate. And it stopped reimbursing health insurance companies that provided low-income consumers financial help with out-of-pocket costs.

The result: Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the biggest insurer in the state's individual market, said premiums would increase  16 percent to 28 percent.

At least some consumers haven't been deterred. Through the first five weeks of open enrollment, 104,142 New Jerseyans signed up compared with 80,152 the same period a year ago, up 30 percent, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Total enrollment could fall short of last year's levels given the shorter enrollment period.

But insurer AmeriHealth New Jersey said calls to its sales office were up 150 percent on the first day of enrollment. And Fulfill, a nonprofit group formerly known as the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, said it is on pace to meet its goal of signing up 1,100 families, exceeding last year's mark.

"Our message is simple: There’s been a lot of debate on the national level on the future of health care, but health care is still available today," said Carlos Rodriguez, executive director of Fulfill.

Consumers have another option. Oscar, an insurer that is trying to set itself apart from competitors by marketing its consumer-friendly technology and telemedicine options, returned to New Jersey after leaving for a year.

Enrollment is in line with projections, and the company has begun to sell plans for small businesses that go into effect Jan. 1, said Louis DeStefano, vice president of sales.

"New Jersey has stabilized, and it's a different dynamic in what you're seeing," DeStefano said.

Consumers, however, face sticker shock. About 80 percent of individuals buying health insurance in the Obamacare marketplace are eligible for subsidies to make premiums more affordable, but many of the plans have higher deductibles, said Toby Stark, a Tinton Falls broker and the past-president of the New Jersey Association of Health Underwriters, a trade group.

And those with incomes too high to qualify for financial help have few good alternatives, Stark said.

"There are a lot of SOS's out there," Stark said.

Zonsa was in that category. She received a notice from Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey this fall telling her that premiums for herself and her 15-year-old son would increase from $962 a month to $1,300 a month starting in January.

If it was another product – soap, movie tickets, restaurants – she could find another brand or walk away.

But her husband died of cancer so she knows the financial toll of an unexpected illness. And she is being treated for a form of lymphoma; she had few options but to search for a new plan.

Zonsa decided to switch to Horizon's Omnia plan, which left her with premiums of $1,162 a month. All of her doctors are in its top network. But the plan includes a deductible of $1,500 for an individual and $3,000 for a family, and out-of-pocket costs of $500 a day for hospital stays.

Other obstacles loom. Congress, for example, is considering a tax reform bill that would eliminate medical expense deductions. Tight times could be ahead.

"I really have to sock away money, and I don’t spend on other things because I have to make sure I can take care of myself and my son," Zonsa said. "But I am scared if I get sick and go to the hospital, that’s a heck of a lot of money to pay."

Michael L. Diamond; @mdiamondapp; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@gannettnj.com

OBAMACARE HELP

Individuals needing to sign up for health insurance for 2018 can see their options at healthcare.gov.

Need help? Fulfill will host sessions at:

• The B.E.A.T. Center; 101 Washington St., Toms River; Dec. 11, Dec. 13, and Dec. 15; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Ocean County Library; 301 Lexington Ave., Lakewood; Dec. 14; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Freehold Raceway Mall; Next to Macy's, Freehold Township; Dec. 12, Dec. 13; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Fulfill; 3300 Route 66; Neptune; Dec. 15; 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Manalapan Library; 125 Symmes Dr.; Dec. 13; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 732-643-5888