The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, still exists and it’s still a great way to get access to the health insurance that you and your family need. The open enrollment period started last year and ends this week, on January 31st. That means that if you’re not signed up by then, you won’t be able to get covered, switch your plan or apply for assistance without a big change in your life, getting on Medicaid, or paying a fee. These are the last few days to get this health insurance.

Getting health insurance through the Affordable Care Act is important. First of all, people who don’t have health insurance might have to pay a fee for every month that they aren’t covered, or don’t have an exemption. In some cases, the fee could be as high as just getting health insurance. The second reason to get health insurance is that you’ll have health insurance! Not only will you be able to go to the doctor before small problems turn into big, expensive problems, the Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies take care of you like they never did before:

  • No annual or lifetime limits on healthcare
  • You can’t be charged more based on health status or gender
  • Insurance companies can’t drop you when you are sick
  • You can’t be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions
  • You can appeal decisions that your insurance provider made that you don’t agree with
  • Children can stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26 years old
  • Many women’s health care services are now completely free, including contraceptives, well-woman visits, gestational diabetes screening, domestic violence screening, breastfeeding support, HIV screening, and many, many more
  • Dozens of preventive care screenings are completely free, including for blood pressure, cholesterol, colorectal cancer, STDs, and you can even get some immunizations for free. Children have access to even more free screenings.

ChartThe Philadelphia Department of Public Health recently published research on how the Affordable Care Act has benefited Philadelphians, and it’s amazing how many people have already signed up. More than 59,000 have gotten insurance through Healthcare.gov and more than 166,000 have enrolled in Medicaid since it expanded in Pennsylvania. The best thing that we learned from that study, though, was that the percentage of people who didn’t see a doctor in 2014/2015 because it would cost too much went down more than 5%. Only 13.4% of Philadelphians couldn’t afford to go see a doctor when they needed to in 2014 and 2015. While this is still 13.4% too high, it’s still better than it was in 2012 when 18.5% of Philadelphians, nearly one in five, who didn’t see a doctor because of how much it cost.

If you want to be able to afford to go to the doctor, to get free health screenings and contraceptives, to be able to take care of your family and children, you need to apply. Today. Before January 31st.

To apply for health insurance coverage, visit healthcare.gov, visit any of the City’s eight health centers, or find your local library and contact the partner agency for more information on enrolling.