For more stories about how the ACA is helping New Yorkers get covered, see our full booklet: The ACA is Working: New Yorkers Tell Their Stories of Getting Covered

Enrolled in: QHP, with financial assistance
Final premium: $106
Before seeing a Navigator, Engracia had a plan that ate into her bank account.
With the help of a Navigator, she enrolled in a plan that saves her $4,500 a year. 

Engracia worked for decades as an educator, but employer-based health insurance was never a good option for her. She found that many teaching positions came with very minimal health insurance, if any at all. Instead, she scraped together $488 a month to participate in a health plan provided by her late husband’s former employer. When she heard about the new options under the Affordable Care Act, she went straight to the Community Service Society for help enrolling. A Navigator there was able to help her find a plan that fit her health needs and saved her $4,500 a year. Engracia demonstrates her excitement by volunteering for Get Covered New York, a campaign to raise awareness about the new insurance options under the ACA. When Engracia does outreach with Latinas in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, she refers them to the same Spanish-speaking Navigator who helped her

“For me, it was a night and day difference. It was a no-brainer.”

Special thanks to the Raising Women’s Voices for contributing this story!