UPDATED STORY: Lewiston health insurance co-op remains king of the marketplace

AUGUSTA — Nearly 80 percent of Maine residents who have signed up for health coverage on the exchange have selected plans with a Lewiston-based nonprofit co-op.

Maine Community Health Options CEO Kevin Lewis said Tuesday that 57,600 residents have enrolled with the company through the exchange.

Federal officials said last week that 74,792 people in Maine chose a health plan or were automatically re-enrolled in coverage as of Feb. 15, the last day of open enrollment. A special sign-up period will begin March 15 for some people.

During the first enrollment session, 83 percent of the roughly 44,000 Mainers who signed up on the exchange chose MCHO plans over Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Residents were given more choices this year with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care also on the exchange.

Supreme uncertainty: The future of the Affordable Care Act in Maine
Here’s what to expect from year two and beyond for the ACA in Maine.

Lewiston insurer is a national ‘rock star’
Today, a year after it started offering health insurance from its Lewiston headquarters in the Bates Mill, Maine Community Health Options has more than 40,000 members.

Profiles of Mainers who bought health insurance through the ACA marketplace:

• Barb Gabri: ‘Rolling the dice’ without insurance
• Charlene Brousseau: Sticking with the ACA
• Sherri Tripp: ‘I think it’s wonderful’
• Blake Pooler: Finally insured, for $160 a month
• $22 a month: ‘I am totally flabbergasted’
• Business owner: ACA offered another option

You’ve seen how the Affordable Care Act affected other Mainers in 2014. How about you? Good, bad or neutral — share your ACA stories

Resources:

• How the ACA changed your insurance
• Who are the health insurers competing for Mainers’ money
• Where to get help
• Tips, hints and other things you need to know
• Get insurance: The step-by-step
• Answers to frequently asked questions
• Know the lingo
• ACA by the numbers

From ‘hellish’ to health care: The ACA in Maine one year later
A one-year checkup on how the ACA is doing in Maine and a subsidy calculator can be found at SunJournal.com/ACA201

Affordable Care Act 101: We break down the ACA, what it does and what it requires you to do.