Anne's I'm Covered Story

HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell hugs Anne Ha during an event in Philadelphia.

By Anne Ha, 27, Philadelphia, Pa.

I used to work as an overnight television producer in Allentown, but returned home to Philadelphia after a few years because I felt the odd hours were messing up my internal clock and health – to say nothing of a social life.

While I regrouped, I ran a nail salon in Philly. What I didn’t do was get health insurance. I’m young and I’ve always been healthy. I thought going to the gym and eating well would be enough. Why have health insurance for the couple of times a year that I see the doctor, only to be told “It’s nothing.”

But my mother urged me to get covered. She kept playing the what-if game. What if you have a car accident? What if you catch something?

After the New Year, I started feeling a bit funny. To put my mother’s mind at ease, I went ahead and checked out my options in the Health Insurance Marketplace . I enrolled in coverage that was affordable for me: With Marketplace assistance, my plan costs $85 a month with no deductible.

I was fortunate that I did.

I couldn’t sleep for three nights because of massive chest pains and was initially diagnosed with acid reflux. But then in early February, I passed out, the result of internal bleeding from three ulcers caused by the H. pylori virus. After more tests last spring, I learned one of the ulcers tested positive for cancer.

It was very scary at first, but the doctors told me the cancer was caught so early, it wasn’t even stage one.

Still, I had to undergo surgery in mid-June, and now am going through chemo once a week until January or February of 2015.

Without health insurance, I might have delayed going to the doctor, having the necessary tests, and detecting the stomach cancer early. I don’t know how I would have paid for my medical care.

The bills are still coming in, but I estimate that along with the monthly premiums and copays, I will have paid less than $5,000. My insurance is covering the rest—perhaps as much as $500,000 to $1 million. One surgery and hospital stay alone cost roughly $250,000.

I’m very glad I got covered, and I’m urging everyone I know who doesn’t have insurance to check out their options at HealthCare.gov when open enrollment in the Marketplace starts again on Nov. 15. If you need help navigating the Marketplace, you can call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY: 1-855-889-4325), any time, any day.

If like me, you previously signed up for coverage through the Marketplace, you should return to HealthCare.gov on November 15 to update your application and compare your options to enroll in the plan that best meets your needs for 2015 coverage. I’m going to re-enroll. 

We young people too often gamble with our health. That’s not me anymore. I’m one of the millions of Americans who have enrolled in affordable, quality health insurance.

This story originally appeared on HHS.gov/blog .