Obamacare Rally Saturday at Howard Amon Park – Brought by WA Healthcare Exchange

The Washington State Healthcare Exchange is the driving force behind a health care rally taking place Saturday at Howard Amon Park in Richland from 2-5 p.m.

The Navigator In-Person Assister Program for Benton and Franklin counties is one of the service organizations chosen by the Healthcare Exchange to help spread the word about Washington state's Healthcare Exchange, and to encourage enrollment.

According to a news release about the rally, there are 44,000 uninsured people in Benton and Franklin counties, but those numbers could not be substantiated by deadline. Earlier this year, officials with the Exchange claimed the number of uninsured to be around 38,800.

The Washington Post recently ran an article by a writer who, because they are from the Pacific Northwest, used Seattle as an example of how much Obamacare will cost. The story included this line about how much a single person would have to pay for an average program:

As you go up the income scale, your contribution gets bigger. And at 400 percent of the poverty line, or $45,960 for an individual, the federal government won't give you any subsidy, expecting anyone earning above that limit to pay the full price."

The Post item also reveals glaring discrepancies between different states' costs. While the cheapest Affordable Care Act program in Vermont could virtually be "free" (after tax credits) for a 25 year old, the same programs in Oregon would cost an average of $116 a month -- both for a person making between $28-29,000.

While some state exchanges are reporting a lot of people are calling to get information,  most of them are lower-income families or individuals. Higher income people and families are more reluctant; confused by the 2,000-page law that has already seen premiums double or triple by many individuals and families.