SAN ANTONIO – Rosemary Diaz is a self-employed hair stylist, mom of three kids and pays all of her medical bills completely out of pocket.
"It's very costly," she said. "It went up from $80 to $100 per visit."
Diaz, 36, has a thyroid disorder and pre-diabetes. Her bills for office visits and lab work were so high, she put them on a payment plan.
"I hesitate to go, but once I start to feel bad, I have no choice but to go," she said.
Dias is among the nearly 100,000 currently uninsured people in Bexar County who will be eligible to enroll for coverage under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
"I have no idea how much it's going to be, so I'm just hoping I'll be able to be covered," Diaz said.
Beginning October 1, Diaz will be able to shop for coverage through the government-run digital marketplace by visiting www.healthcare.gov.
It's the government website where consumers will be able to compare plans, see how much subsidy they qualify for and what their premiums will cost.
Consumers whose income is between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for subsidies, which are applied according to a sliding scale.
In advance of the Oct. 1 enrollment launch, the website offers other information about the new health care law and how it works for individuals and businesses.
- KSAT also has a page where users can learn more about the new law and how will affect their needs. It can be found at ksat.com/healthcare.
The actual plans and prices are not available yet.
There is an online calculator, offered by the Kaiser Family Foundation, that tells users how much subsidy they would likely qualify for and what the premium would likely be.
For example, two young adults with two children and earning $100,000 per year would get no subsidy and their annual premium would be close to $10,000.
However, for someone like Diaz, who earns 106 percent of the federal poverty level, her insurance coverage through the marketplace would be 94 percent subsidized. Her premium cost would be $500 a year.
Whether subsidized or full price, the insurance policies purchased through the federal website and marketplace would be private health insurance, not government insurance.
Anyone can buy through the marketplace, however, most people who's employers offer insurance, or who have higher incomes, would not be eligible for subsidies.
For a list of recent stories Marilyn Moritz has done, click here.