Teresa J., from Orange County works for the city of Orlando as a sanitation worker. She keeps parking garages and surrounding areas clean of trash to keep the city clean and presentable. The city qualifies her as a seasonal worker and therefore doesn’t offer her health insurance or any other benefits.
Teresa went without health insurance for a long time and very recently received a collection call from Orlando Regional Medical Center for an outstanding invoice of close to $1000 from a medical visit in 2020. “I have never seen a bill before and asked them to put it in the mail. The medical visit happened just before I found Trish, my navigator.”
She met Trish in the UP Center, where she gets her my taxes done and assistance with other personal stuff. “We hit it off immediately.” Trish helped me get the right health insurance and has helped me ever since. Someone over the phone had put me in a bronze plan before at zero premium. “Trish got on the phone with healthcare.gov with me there and said that was wrong plan for me and got it straightened out for me.” She explained that zero premium sounds good but when you need to use insurance you pay a lot of money. Sometimes paying a little premium towards a silver plan, will cover you much better when you need to use it. “Having health insurance makes me sleep a lot better.” Teresa’s old doctor increased his copay a lot last year and
“Trish came to the rescue again and helped me pick a plan I can afford with a new doctor still very close to me. Trish is a very important person in my life, she really made a big difference in my life.”
Everybody should know, find a navigator for your health insurance because you will be glad you did. They will put you on the right path.
Affordable Care Act Navigators
The ACA and its Navigators across the state of Florida are assisting individuals like Teresa to find affordable coverage enabling them to receive the care and medications they need to lead healthier lives. In Orlando and the surrounding areas, get free help from a Covering Central Florida Navigator at www.coveringcfl.net. Are you somewhere else in Florida? Find a qualified local Covering Florida Navigator at www.coveringflorida.org.