Open enrollment begins November 1st for the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace.

Residents can now begin searching for affordable health care policies with a click of a button. Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center is a private non-profit that seeks to improve health through several programs.

“As you can see, this one was $410.09, with your tax credit, all you are paying is $21.34,” said Christopher Breaux, a Certified Health Insurance Navigator with SWLAHEC.

The search for affordable health care policies is made more accessible with the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace.

“Oftentimes, people who’ve had health insurance don’t know how to properly utilize it to save money and to improve their health,” said Breaux.

SWLAHEC is a non-profit working under the Federal Navigator Grant created by the Affordable Care Act.

“So if someone were between 138% of the federal poverty line for their household size and 400% of the federal poverty line for their household size, they would be eligible for tax credits monthly to help them pay for the insurance premiums,” explained Breaux.

Patient protection is put in place on the marketplace so there are no pre-existing exclusions. Pricing is also dependent on tax-credit-based income.

“For instance, if someone had a $1,200 insurance premium listed on the marketplace, but was eligible for $1,100 in tax credits they would only pay $100 a month for their health insurance,” he added.

Over 20 private policies are listed online to ensure someone is even covered by minimal essential benefits.

“It’s not making things equal. It’s offering people the accessibility to the healthcare they need,” said Breaux.

Open enrollment runs until December 15th only on their secure website, healthcare.gov. If approved, coverage takes effect in January 2020.

After the deadline, only special enrollments are offered throughout the year for specific cases. The center also assists in Medicaid applications and other resources.

For more information on Southwest Louisiana Area Health Education Center, click here.