Health insurance coverage is giving some Americans sticker shock. Obamacare rates are going up an average of 25 percent, depending on where you live. The reasons are many, but they include a general rise in health care costs and the provision under Obamacare that prevents insurance companies from denying coverage to people with preexisting health conditions.
"I think the concept of the Affordable Care Act is a good start," said Larry Robins, president and CEO of Pedi Place, which serves uninsured and Medicaid patients. "There's a coverage gap, and the coverage gap is substantial when it comes to accessing care."
Trevor Creed was in that gap. For a year, she had no health insurance. Now, Creed and her daughters Tabitha and Tatum are on Medicaid. Of the two major party presidential candidates, she has a favorite.
"Honestly, I think Hillary for extending Medicare and Medicaid," Creed said. "The bills are hard. It was a lot of struggle and hardship with that, especially with two kids."
Hillary Clinton has said, if elected president, she would incentivize states to expand Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act beyond the 20 million people now covered. Clinton also wants to lower the out-of-pocket expenses for co-pays and deductibles and reduce the cost of prescription drugs.
"If there's a way to enhance what exists, I think that's a good thing," Robins said. "I'd like nothing better than to be out of business if it meant that everybody had accessible care."
