To the Editor:
Like so many others, my wife and I moved from Boston to Maine in 2013 for the improved quality of life. We didn’t want to raise our newborn daughter in a crowded and expensive city, but rather a beautiful, peaceful place surrounded by a community of caring people. We moved to a quiet town in the Midcoast and haven’t looked back.
We knew it wouldn’t be the easiest financially. I quit a high-prestige job with good pay and benefits and we picked up, between the two of us, three part-time jobs here in Maine. What we lost in financial security was more than made up for in short commutes, friendly neighbors, and lots of time together as a family.
One of our biggest costs was health care. With all of the checkups and sniffles a small child brings on, we couldn’t risk not having insurance. We made too much for public assistance but none of our jobs provided benefits.
We paid out of pocket over $750 per month, or $9,000 a year, about a quarter of our total income, for coverage from a national, for-profit provider.
Since January 2014, I can now spend most of that $750 a month on paying off student loans, saving up for my daughter’s education, and improving the land we were able to buy. What changed? The Affordable Care Act.
Last year, I went on the ACA marketplace website and was able to get a new, better plan through Maine Community Health Options, a local, nonprofit insurance provider. I went from paying $750 a month to $70. Yes, you read that correctly. My premiums went down ten times, and my deductible and co-pays went down too.
We were scraping by before we enrolled in the ACA. Now we’re a lot more comfortable and you can be too. The deadline for enrolling for 2015 is the end of February. Take my advice and go to enroll207.org now and get your family covered today.
