(828newsNOW) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday honored those who’ve helped hundreds of thousands of state residents enroll in health care coverage, including navigators from Buncombe County.

At a ceremony in Raleigh, Cooper signed a proclamation declaring April 15 to 19 as North Carolina Enrollment Assister Appreciation Week.

Medicaid expansion began in the state on Dec. 1. Since then, more than 424,000 people now have Medicaid coverage, the governor’s office said. North Carolina has also had record enrollments through the federally facilitated health care marketplace, seeing more than 1 million people sign up for health care plans during open enrollment.

“Our goal is simple, get people covered and get people connected to the care they deserve,” North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Kody H. Kingsley said in a news release. “We are grateful to the enrollment assisters on the ground statewide, including rural communities providing critical information to people who are newly qualified and getting them enrolled in care.”

The assisters, counselors and navigators provide free and unbiased assistance for those who need help. The Affordable Care Act passed in 2010 and the resulting marketplace began in 2013.

Tuesday’s signing ceremony included representatives of the NC Navigator Consortium and Care Share Alliance.
Among them was Susan Wilson of Weaverville, one of the first state navigators who recently retired from the Council on Aging of Buncombe County.

Wilson remembered one of the first people she enrolled was a 19-year-old woman who was born with a heart condition.

“She had had multiple operations over the span of her life, and she had been told she would never be able to get health insurance,” Wilson said. That changed with the Affordable Care Act, or ACA. “I helped her get insurance,” Wilson said.

Wilson said the ACA has saved lives. People who had not had health insurance were suddenly able to get medical exams.

“They found out they needed medical treatment immediately,” Wilson said. “Cancer survivors who hadn’t been able to get insurance were able to get medical exams and found out the cancer had returned and they needed treatment.”
Medicaid expansion and the ACA have helped give people peace of mind, she said.

Although the ACA helped many people get insurance through the marketplace, many were still uninsured because they couldn’t afford it.

“There were a lot of people we could not help in (the federal Health Insurance) Marketplace because, ironically, they did not make enough money. After Medicaid expanded, they now have the opportunity to get health care. They now get the health care they need.” Wilson said. “They catch whatever medical issue they have before it becomes a bigger issue.”

 

NOTE: Council on Aging of Buncombe County is a sponsor of 828newsNOW.com. This story was edited by former navigator M.E. Sprengelmeyer, now editor in chief of 828newsNOW.com.