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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Mina Schultz says she's living proof that young adults need to think about getting health insurance.
Two weeks after finishing her college graduate studies in 2011, Schultz was diagnosed with bone cancer. Because she was under age 26 at the time, she was able to use her parents' insurance plan.
Now 28, Schultz is a certified application counselor at Monongahela Valley Association of Health Centers Inc.'s Fairmont clinic. Since she's a contractor, she had to find private health insurance on her own.
Schultz signed up for her coverage under the West Virginia's health insurance exchange after it became available a year ago. The second round of open enrollment started Saturday.
During the initial round of signups in West Virginia, only 19 percent of the 19,860 new enrollees were ages 18 to 34, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
West Virginia tied with Minnesota for the lowest percentage of signups involving 18 to 25 year olds, and tied with Arizona and Vermont for the lowest percentage of 26- to 34-year-olds enrolled.
"I just hope that other young people can kind of see that things do happen," Schultz said. "I never thought I would get a cancer diagnosis. You never know if you're going to drop a box on your foot, either, and break your toe. Insurance is a very important part of a young person's life."
The 2010 Affordable Care Act, which bans denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, "has really benefited me," Schultz said. "It's affordable for me. It gives me the same coverage as anyone else without a pre-existing condition. My premium is based solely on my age and my income."
Schultz said her cancer is in remission. After her diagnosis, Schultz endured a year of in-patient chemotherapy and five surgeries, "which would have without question bankrupted my family had I not been insured," she said. "I likely would not have had access to the same treatment that I would have had I been uninsured at that time.
"I'm really thankful today because I now have a pre-existing condition but I have the same access to health care as anyone else. I don't have to pay more. I'm not considered uninsurable, which I had been before the passage of the Affordable Care Act."
Here are some other things to know about the second round of signups under the federal health exchange in West Virginia:
WHERE TO SIGN UP: The enrollment period runs through Feb. 15. In addition to sign-up events held across the state Saturday, assistance is available at health centers statewide.
WHO OFFERS IT: Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield West Virginia is the only private insurer participating in the state marketplace. The insurer had 24,802 West Virginia signups during the first enrollment period. The Kentucky Health Cooperative has postponed its entrance in the West Virginia marketplace for another year.
NO PAPER, PLEASE: Ellen Potter, director of health policy for the West Virginia Insurance Commission, suggests that for speedier processing, residents should avoid submitting paper applications. Enroll through the Internet or over the phone instead. "They'll get instant quotes and answers," she said.
EXTRA COVERAGE: Some lower-income residents who sign up may be eligible for enrollment through regular or expanded Medicaid coverage, and their children through the Children's Health Insurance Program. Medicaid and CHIP coverage is available year-round. Medicaid covers those under age 65 who earns less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
Potter said 86 percent of enrollees in the state-sponsored marketplace in the earlier period received financial assistance to help with their premiums.
"So no matter what size family or income a person has, it's good to go on the marketplace to see where you fall," she said.
PENALTIES: When filing 2014 federal tax returns, uninsured adults will pay the greater of $95 per person and $47.50 per juvenile, or 1 percent of their yearly household income above the threshold required for filing a return. For 2015, the rates rise to 2 percent of income above the threshold, or $325 per person and $162.50 per child under 18.
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