FRANKLIN
Representatives of Enroll Virginia met with local business owners on Tuesday at the Ruth Camp Campbell Library to discuss the new healthcare marketplace.

Elise Brown, a certified navigator for Enroll Virginia, led the discussion about the wide-reaching effects of the Affordable Care Act on Virginia’s economy and the bottom line of local business owners.

“The law provides us with protection and helps us with preventative care,” Brown said. “Some people might say, ‘I have a $50 copay when I visit the doctor to have a screening. If I have to pay that much, it might be more important for me to buy groceries for my children.

“The Affordable Care Act says, ‘Look, people are neglecting their health because they can’t afford to pay a copay for basic preventative screenings,’” Brown said.

Brown then gave an outline of how the law enables the 31 million uninsured people in America to receive coverage.

Del. Roslyn Tyler (D-75), present at the meeting, added, “We have 400,000 Virginians that are not receiving health care … And it’s not because they aren’t working. People are working two and three jobs, but the cost of healthcare is such a large amount they can’t afford it.”

Brown then went on to given an allegorical example to help business owners determine whether or not they should provide healthcare for their employees. “Income is going to tell you the complete story,” she said. “Anyone that’s under 200 percent of federal poverty level, your employees are better off going to the marketplace, you’re better off not providing healthcare and letting them know why: because they can get healthcare cheaper from the marketplace.”

Brown took the attendees through an example of how a small business can benefit from the tax breaks offered to those who provide healthcare for their employees.

However, she advised everyone to talk to his or her tax accountant to determine whether or not providing health care would be beneficial to provide healthcare to their employees.

In order to better explain the healthcare options available to small business owners and to the general public, Enroll Virginia will host two more events in the area.

Healthcare advisers will be available to speak at the Department of Social Services in Franklin on Saturday, July 25, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. They will also be at the Paul D. Camp Community College campus in Smithfield on Saturday, Aug. 29 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

For more information on either event, call Takisha Carr, Enroll Virginia’s community health education program specialist at 434-316-2321