GWEN IFILL: That brings us to an additional chapter in our series showcasing responses to the Affordable Care Act, as additional individuals come to be conscious of the details.

Last night, we aired the story of a Washington, D.C., lawyer that burnt that her present insurance coverage plan had actually been canceled.

Tonight, we hear from a Colorado woman that was detected with cancer simply before her spouse shed his work and his healthcare plan.

Below’s some of exactly what she told us:

MARTHA MONSSON, cancer victim: I am Martha Monsson. I’m 59 years old.

I was detected when I was 54, January of 2008, with multiple myeloma, which is a bone marrow cancer. The treatments for that mostly are chemotherapy. What the chemo is for, basically, is to decrease the number of cancer cells.

This therapy is lifesaving. I would have perished probably in February 2008 without it. When I was initial diagnosed, my husband was the county lawyer in Morgan Region. And we had insurance via them. Yet his job was removed.

So, since after that, he has been doing deal job, which has kept earnings can be found in, but, for insurance policy, all we have had is through COBRA. That expires at the end of February. If he doesn’t have another work by the end of February, we would certainly have to use for personal insurance policy. We would acquire rejected as a result of my preexisting health condition.

Even if they were visiting take me as a result of the preexisting condition, it would be extremely costly. The cost effective healthcare act implies that I have an opportunity, that I don’t need to quit procedure once the insurance runs out.

MAN: We will certainly have the ability to obtain something.

MARTHA MONSSON: Yes, yes.

MAN: Yet we will have to pay even more.

MARTHA MONSSON: It’s massive, and I assume particularly to my household, due to the fact that they would not like to have to disengage.

This regulation is very much a game-changer for us. I am wishing that, in January, when this reaches effect, that I will not need to bother with the insurance we have now finishing in February, that I will manage to keep getting therapy.

There’s methadone, which is an ache pill for my spine deterioration.

When I was very first detected– well, certainly, the first response was to want it hadn’t happened. However the second reaction was to want it had happened someplace civilized, like France, or Canada, where you get healthcare type of as an issue of program, and it isn’t really as expensive as it is here.

The problem, I think, is, a bunch of people assume that, if they’re healthy and balanced, they’re visiting say healthy and balanced for life. And also though I had insurance policy, I thought I was visiting stay healthy and balanced for life. Individuals that oppose the budget friendly health care act quite absolutely do not have the larger image. They don’t see that it could take place to them, and either they uncommitted or they don’t see exactly what it does to other individuals.

People are one diagnosis away. And they don’t recognize it, to a big level, but it’s really true. Exactly what I tell student who oppose the Affordable Care Act is, fine. If you wish to eliminate it, you could pay my health care costs. That would certainly be remarkable. I– provide me a mailing address, and I will onward my costs to you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health and wellness Information is still with us to help place Ms. Monsson’s story in standpoint.

And I wish to say, our hearts head out to her.

MARY AGNES CAREY: Completely.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And we cherish her speaking with us.

So, tell us, why is the Affordable Care Act a welcome point for an individual like her?

MARY AGNES CAREY: Since, in the specific market prior to the Affordable Treatment Act, she would most likely be declined for insurance coverage, due to the fact that she has cancer, since her clinical costs are so higher.

This is a problem that regarding a quarter– about 20 percent approximately of individuals in the individual market making an application for coverage get these beings rejected based on medical status. That is no more allowed with the Affordable Treatment Act. You cannot be turned down because of a health care problem.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Yet this is a tale that hasn’t been told, I think, in many respects. People understand it, I think, but we do not read about it that usually.

MARY AGNES CAREY: I believe it’s part of– she placed it out effectively. We’re all one medical diagnosis far from this kind of point, and unless you have actually experienced it directly in your family or personally, you might not think of the problems that originates from this kind of diagnosis, and the fact that you could tire your limits rather swiftly on insurance coverage, and if you needed to go out and purchase it yourself, you can not obtain it.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, essentially, Mary Agnes, what would an individual’s alternatives be in her scenario if it had not been for the Affordable Care Act? Exactly what could she have done?

MARY AGNES CAREY: She explored COBRA, which is the extension of protection you can buy from a company. Once that ran out, she might visit an insurance broker to try to get insurance coverage in the specific market once more. She could have been rejected. It would be quite, extremely costly.

She could have entered into something called a high-risk pool, which is– they’re state-run oftentimes, and they exist to help take care of the higher risk. But that would certainly likewise be a very costly alternative for her. Now, depending upon their family members earnings, they could or might not have gotten Medicaid. However, once more, all these are really difficult choices.

JUDY WOODRUFF: And she discussed her other half’s situation. So, some of this– a lot depends of this on where you live, your partner or your family members’s situation.

MARY AGNES CAREY: Right.

JUDY WOODRUFF: I indicate, it’s not– it’s not a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all.

MARY AGNES CAREY: No, completely not. And it’s quite tailored to your specific circumstances, your medical– that was all the medical underwriting that is vanishing with the Affordable Treatment Act.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, talk– talk, Mary Agnes, approximately– regarding how huge a component of the whole market of people, variety of student that are seeking coverage are individuals like Ms. Monsson.

MARY AGNES CAREY: Again, you have about 14 thousand individuals on the specific market. That represents regarding 5 percent of everybody who is guaranteed.

And of that 14 million, of those that apply, concerning 20 percent would certainly be declined based upon their healthcare standing. So, it’s a small group, yet a very effective group because of the damage that this does if you don’t have health and wellness coverage and just what it does for your medical treatment, just what it provides for your personal financial resources.

And what’s interesting to me is, this stipulation, even student that dislike the Affordable Care Act, they like the suggestion that someone can not be declined on the basis of a health care disorder for health plan. So, it’s an arrangement of the legislation that polls effectively.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, is it literally the situation that you are approved under the Affordable Care Act no matter what your health and wellness disorder is?

MARY AGNES CAREY: Right.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Despite how much along a disease may be?

MARY AGNES CAREY: That’s correct.

They could have some changes based on your age or whether you smoke or where you stay in the nation, yet, normally, are you enabled to have insurance coverage under the Affordable Treatment Act. And an important think to note, as we explored last night, this entire sticker shock suggestion, this is one of the most– this is just one of the stipulations that is steering up the cost for health fees.

It’s a pricey provision, however this plus the vital wellness perks are two of those factors behind all the sticker label shock we’re becoming aware of.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, component of the bigger image here, however, is that we know that for this brand-new legislation to function, not everybody can have– can be sick. There need to be healthy and balanced people subscribing, too.

MARY AGNES CAREY: Right.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Describe how that works and how that equilibrium works in the law.

MARY AGNES CAREY: It’s an equilibrium. It’s a balance of threat.

The healthier people get involved in the very same threat pool as the sicker people and assist stabilize the threat out with time. That’s why you require– an individual like Martha, who is really unwell, who may or could not have issues registering with medical care. gov, they’re visiting hang in there to obtain insurance coverage.

The individuals that they additionally should enter the danger pool are student who presently have protection and are healthier, might have had less medical problems, but remain in wellness insurance coverage to aid harmony that risk.

JUDY WOODRUFF: But also for the– of program, for those who are healthy and balanced, it’s harder to– as you have actually simply been saying, it’s more challenging for them to understand why– why it is something for them to seriously think about registering.

MARY AGNES CAREY: Right.

And if they have flourished in the individual market as a healthier individual, their premiums might enhance. That was the lady we discussed last evening. Her costs are enhancing. She kept claiming she had not had some– she had a couple of clinical concerns this year, but total had actually been a healthy individual.

If you have had lower premiums in the individual market, and you have been healthier, you could pay even more under the Affordable Care Act.

JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Mary Agnes, just backing away again, and thinking concerning exactly what we spoke about a few mins ago about what we found out today about the registration numbers, how– as the insurance firms monitor all this that is occurring with the enrollment numbers, with the tales that we’re informing of people like the lady we learnt through last night, like Ms. Monsson, exactly how does it affect the behavior of these brands and their ability to tackle brand-new insurance plan?

MARY AGNES CAREY: Well, they have actually based their costs for 2014, when the exchanges start and the Medicaid development begins and so on, based on an assumption that ill people would come in and healthy individuals would certainly come in, that people currently in plans that are not regarded to be able with the Affordable Treatment Act, that they will transition to brand-new plans.

So, all this talk we became aware of, as an example, letting student remain on their current health plan plans, that is visiting threaten the danger pool and might impact excellents in 2015 and past. So, insurance companies are extremely closely enjoying this.

JUDY WOODRUFF: As are all of us, and as I know you are.

MARY AGNES CAREY: Definitely.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Mary Agnes Carey, thanks significantly.

MARY AGNES CAREY: Sure. Thank you.