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SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, November 27, 2013 VOL. 46, NO. 48 75¢ www.islandssounder.com
IN-DEPTH REPORT
Affordable care act and what it means by CALI BAGBY Staff reporter
The Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” has generated debate, confusion, anger and relief nationwide since its passage in 2010. “I think healthcare has always been a hot button issue,” said Patricia Kiszler, who presented a lecture on the subject to Orcas this month. “Anytime you make any changes you are going to have human outcry.” On Orcas, islanders are navigating through the changes and finding how it will affect their futures.
What is Obamacare?
According to www.obamacarefacts.com, the ACA increases the quality, availability and affordability of private and public health insurance to 44 million uninsured and curbs the growth in healthcare spending. People – who can pay – are required to obtain health coverage by 2014 or pay a per month fee. There are tax subsidies available depending on your income. “The law eliminates pre-existing conditions, stops insurance companies from dropping you when you are sick, protects against gender discrimination, expands free preventative services and health benefits, expands Medicaid and improves Medicare,” according to the website. Proponents of the act say that although not perfect, the ACA is far better than the healthcare options prior. Opponents say that what they were promised has not been delivered and that the act is hurting the economy by forcing small businesses to provide employees with insurance they can’t afford. Others complain that their insurance costs are increasing and now they have higher deductibles. Other problems include using the websites for signing up for Obamacare. After launching the ACA websites on Oct. 1, news reports across the country showed people could not access healthcare online. According to Forbes magazine, only six people were enrolled on that first day.
Navigating the system
Despite national news reports that ACA website enrollment was almost impossible to com-
plete, Orcas Islanders like Hilary Canty and Mary Parkerson found the process manageable. Canty said she was able to navigate the website fairly easily in 45 minutes. “We were surprised by how simple it was,” she said. Her perspective may be slanted as she has recently gone through the Application for Federal Student Aid for her son’s college tuition, which she said was much more difficult. She also said that some ACA websites in certain states may not be as easy. Each state had the option to design their own exchange, and create their own website. Washington was one of the states to take this action and its website for the ACA is wahealthplanfinder.org. People can pick a plan and enroll now, but plans will not be effective until Jan. 1. “It’s important for people to know they can shop by themselves for a plan,” said Erin O’Dell of Orcas Family Connections. She is also a certified navigator for the Orcas Affordable Care Collaborative. When Parkerson tried to enroll for healthcare she hit a few speed bumps. If people like Parkerson, whose initial attempt at the website was not smooth, need help they can contact a member of the Orcas Affordable Care Collaborative for help. The collaborative includes Orcas Family Connections (376-3184), Orcas Medical Center (376-2561) and Orcas Family Health Center (376-7778) representatives who are trained to help islanders navigate through the ACA. Parkerson knew that she was eligible for federal assistance, but after completing her information the website notified her that she was not eligible. So she contacted O’Dell. Parkerson was grateful for the assistance. After meeting with
SEE HEALTH, PAGE 5
OPALCO speeds up Broadband project by STEVE WEHRLY Journal reporter
Advocates of broadband expansion followed up on recent communications problems with renewed motivation to bring broadband technology to all San Juan County businesses and residents. The meeting room at Orcas Power and Light Cooperative’s San Juan Island office was jammed Nov. 21 with about 50 islanders who wanted to see how the co-op board of directors would respond to the week-long CenturyLink telephone and internet outage, which occurred earlier this month. The OPALCO board grabbed the brass ring, unanimously endorsing a resolution directing management to speed up deployment of broadband infrastructure to San Juan County. The board resolution, written and moved by San Juan Island board member Glenna Hall, authorized use of OPALCO money in an effort that Board Chairman Chris Thomerson estimated might cost as much as $12 million over the next three years. The resolution specified that “Deployment will be supported and funded by OPALCO assets, including equity and rates.” The resolution was accompanied by more than an hour of public input and almost an hour of board discussion. Some members of the public, such as Wally Gudgel from Orcas Island, Mark Anderson and Mark Madsen of San Juan, and Victoria Compton of the San Juan County Economic Development Council, were unequivocal advocates of bringing a fully functional, modern broadband communications system to the county. Anderson was emphatic: “This is about every part of the economy and our demographics. The internet is the great enabler of our century and every person, every child, needs to have access to the technology that only some of us
have now.” Others, such as Steve Ludwig and Dwight Lewis, both from Lopez, were skeptical. Ludwig was contemptuous, calling the board “stooges” and saying the matter should be subject to a vote of the membership. Proponents and opponents reminded the board and OPALCO executives (General Manager Randy Cornelius and Assistant General Manager Foster Hildreth listened intently) that OPALCO’s financial well-being must not be damaged. A statement from board member Vince Daucinius that the long-term cost might be as much a $72 million elicited several variations of the question, “Where’s the money coming from?” Daucinius allowed that “financing is the issue, not technology. We’ll need a sensible, phased approach that will take a while to do. We’ll need patience to stay with it for the long haul, and we need to work with the business
SEE OPALCO, PAGE 6
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