ACA’s Sixth Anniversary: Finding Coverage and Peace of Mind

ACA’s Sixth Anniversary: Finding Coverage and Peace of Mind

March 24, 2016

By: Kevin Rose, Indianapolis, Indiana

I’m a pastor at Cumberland First Baptist Church in Indianapolis, and we pastors need health coverage like everybody else. But in 2013, my church could no longer afford the $12,000 my insurance premium cost every year. I couldn’t sustain this expense, and neither could our small congregation. I had to find new coverage.
We weren’t alone. Other local churches could no longer afford to offer insurance to their staff. Our denomination’s benefit board had to stop offering insurance for pastors and employees after so many people were financially forced out of their plans.
Then again, like too many other Americans, buying health insurance on my own was too expensive. I couldn’t afford it.  Fortunately, I could immediately move over to the Health Insurance Marketplace, established through the Affordable Care Act, where I was able to find quality health coverage that I could afford—and even keep my primary care physician.

I’m one of the 20 million Americans who have gained coverage because of the Affordable Care Act.

And I’m able to keep an eye out for better health insurance plans.  For the past three years, a navigator from ASPIN Health Navigator has actually come to the church and helped me find a plan that best fits my needs.
READ MORE: ACA’s Sixth Anniversary: Finding Coverage and Peace of Mind