Affordable Care Act navigators have managed to sign up large numbers of immigrants in a health care plan, but mostly because the language barrier is so great, those same counselors now need to be sure those who signed use their insurance and PAY THEIR BILL.
One of the counselors said you could be here for 20 years and speak perfect English and still not be able to figure it out!
From Philly.com:
When Biak Sung escaped from Myanmar in 2011, there was no health insurance for people like her.
So it’s not surprising that months after buying a plan on the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Sung, 27, a mother of two and a political refugee – whose English consists of “hello” and “thank you” – doesn’t know how to use her family’s policy.
Last week, Sung, whose husband works full time, went to the Southeast Asian Mutual Assistance Association Coalition (SEAMAAC) in South Philadelphia to learn about her new policy, an Independence Blue Cross silver-tier Keystone HMO Proactive plan.
“She doesn’t know what steps to do next and she is concerned,” said Zing Thluai, a SEAMAAC worker who speaks one of three Burmese dialects.
Navigators/counselors now going back to make sure they pay their bills!
So the staff started calling clients, asking whether they had paid their premiums or needed assistance. It wasn’t unusual to hear people say they had received a bill but didn’t know what to do with it because they weren’t sick. Staffers had to explain that the bill must be paid every month, sick or not.
This is surely the next shoe to drop on Obamacare—getting the cash out of people who signed up (and not just the immigrants)!
See our extensive ‘Health issues’ category for more on refugee health.