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Pennsylvania drive pales in comparison to Obamacare exchange enrollment efforts in some states

All summer in Connecticut, people lying on the beach saw a plane trailing information about the Affordable Care Act.

People attending big-name rock concerts encountered signs and staffed tables supplying information about the health law also known as Obamacare.

Shoppers entering popular retailers were intercepted and not only given information, but asked for contact information, so they can be reached and enrolled once a major piece of Obamacare, the health insurance exchange, becomes available Oct. 1, or next Tuesday.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint," -- Ron Pollack
Connecticut's carefully-branded, analytics-driven campaign is an example of the groundwork that has been laid in the 17 states and District of Columbia which are running their own exchange.

It's a far different situation in Pennsylvania, which is among 27 states relying on the federal government to run their exchange. Those states received less money to market their exchanges and help people enroll. (Seven other states are running an exchange in partnership with the federal government.)

"I think Pennsylvania is probably at a disadvantage compared to states that decided to have a state-run exchange," said Antoinnette Kraus, director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network.

Still, Kraus didn't sound disheartened during a conference call Wednesday, saying an "all hands on deck" effort involving 130 churches, health care organizations and non-profits from across Pennsylvania will make people aware of health insurance available on the exchange and help them enroll.

That effort will kick into high gear Tuesday with the official opening of Pennsylvania's exchange, which will enable people to shop for government-approved private insurance plans and pair them with subsidies to make the coverage affordable.

On Tuesday, Kraus' organization will participate in informational events in cities across the state, including Harrisburg.

The subsidies toward coverage, which will vary by income, will be available to single people earning up to $45,960 and families earning up to $94,200 for a family of four.

States that opted to run their own exchange have received more federal money to help them market their exchange and pay for "navigators" to help people compare and enroll in coverage. The states themselves have supported the effort.

But Pennsylvania, where Gov. Tom Corbett has been a critic of the ACA, has "taken a very hands-off approach" toward promoting the exchange, Kraus said. The state insurance department has a website devoted to health insurance information and coverage, including information about the ACA and the exchange. But Kraus said the site seems tilted toward private health insurance plans which won't allow people to tap ACA subsidies to help pay for it.

Pennsylvania received a $2.7 million federal grant to hire navigators, with the money being split by four organizations. The state received an additional $4.1 million in federal funds for navigators at 40 federally-qualified health center, including Hamilton Health in Harrisburg.

Beyond that, a national group, Enroll America, is expected to conduct enrollment efforts in Pennsylvania.

The coverage people can begin shopping on Oct. 1 takes affect Jan. 1. But people can buy coverage through March 31. Under the ACA, most people who don't have health insurance in 2014 will be fined $95 for an adult and half that amount for a child. The fines go up in succeeding years.

But even with the long-running and far-ranging efforts in states such as Connecticut, leaders in those states said Wednesday they weren't expecting an enrollment surge next week. Rather, they predicted interest will pick up in November and December, and they said their promotional and enrollments efforts are long-term.

"This is a marathon, not a sprint," said Ron Pollack, the executive director of Families USA, an advocacy group that supports the Affordable Care Act.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/09/corbett_obamacare_exchange_aff.html