Name: Charlene Brousseau

Age: 62

Location: Manchester

Insurance in 2014: The ACA marketplace

Charlene Brousseau faithfully follows the advice of consumer advocates trumpeting the Affordable Care Act. But it hasn’t been easy.

The Manchester woman signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov in 2013, seeking a more affordable plan to tide her over until she qualifies for Medicare in a few years. She was ensnared in the “horror show” of the site’s botched rollout, but eventually managed to sign up for a plan from Maine Community Health Options that slashed her monthly premium costs by more than half. She bought dental insurance with the money she saved. Her medical needs were covered and she didn’t have to monkey around with co-pays or co-insurance.

But when renewal time rolled around this year, Brousseau learned she couldn’t keep the plan she worked so hard to find. Now 62, she qualifies for a modest Social Security check that bumps her into a new income bracket, throwing off the federal subsidy that helped her purchase insurance.

“That changed everything,” she said. “I’ll be paying about $100 more a month; it more than doubled for me.”

Brousseau still qualifies for a subsidy, albeit smaller, for her new MCHO plan. She’s expecting more co-pays to see her doctor. She also faced the hassle of filling out another enrollment application, even though HealthCare.gov should have saved her information from last year.

But Brousseau says she’s still better off. Before the ACA, she was shelling out $1,100 a month for an “outrageous” plan from Anthem that carried a $2,200 deductible. She views the premium for her new plan as a “realistic amount to pay.” Her coverage was to kick in on Jan. 1.

Still, Brousseau’s looking ahead — almost longingly — to her 65th birthday, when she’ll qualify for Medicare.

“It’s terrible to want to get older to not have to bother with this,” she said.

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.