Hundreds sign up for health insurance in Idaho Falls

Many people are scrambling to sign up for health insurance before the March 31 deadline.

More than 150 people headed to a Your Health Idaho sign-up event at EITC Saturday to get help signing up and get their questions answered.

With the help of an in-person assister, Leon Larson was able to find health insurance for his wife for around $27 per month.

“In the past it used to be almost a joke. They’d try and sell me health insurance, I’d say, ‘My wife’s diabetic,’ and they’d say, ‘See ya,'” said Larson.

Jaime Rodriguez, the man who helped them, said their story is similar to that of so many Idahoans.

“Like Leon’s wife, there’s a lot of people that don’t have coverage and would have to bear those costs themselves or go without medical attention because they can’t afford it,” said Rodriguez.

But not every story can have a happy ending.

“Turns out that I did not make enough to qualify for the insurance and since Idaho didn’t expand the Medicaid, I don’t qualify for Medicaid either,” said Shauna Wescott.

“I am very worried ’cause I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do. My main reason for coming here too is to make sure that I don’t incur any fines because it’s something I can’t control,” Wescott added.

“It has left a lot of people kind of in the dark with no real solution,” said Rodriguez.

So far 4.2 million Americans have enrolled in health insurance plans.