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医保顾问协助平价医保投保人

The debate over the Affordable¹ Care Act, also known as Obamacare, continues. But the White House says improvements to the website have dramatically boosted enrollment³. In some places, trained counselors⁴ are helping⁵ people navigate⁶ the website and they also help enrollees understand how such insurance works.

在美国，围绕平价医保法、也就是所谓奥巴马医保的辩论仍在继续。但白宫说，医保网站的改善大大提升了参保人数。在一些地区，接受过专门培训的医保顾问帮助人们浏览医保网站，还帮助参保者了解这类保险的运作方式。

Most Americans get their health insurance through their employers. But, despite being employed, Marcela Gonzalez does not have health insurance. She is seeking help at a Houston clinic operated by a non-profit organization.

大部分美国人通过雇主购买医疗保险。然而，冈萨雷斯尽管有工作，却没有医保。她生病时，通常去休斯顿一个非盈利组织办的诊所求医。

The Affordable Care Act's website has been plagued with problems since its launch in October. So Gonzalez was unable to enroll² in a program the first time she tried.

平价医保网站10月开通时，有太多问题。冈萨雷斯第一次试图投保，没能成功。

"The system was very slow, and we had another appointment, and I came back and we worked on it, but the system had the same problem again," she said.

“那个系统特别慢。我们又约了一次，回来再试，但还是有同样的问题。”

But persistence⁷ eventually paid off.

不过，冈萨雷斯的坚持终于有了回报。

"On the third appointment, we finished with everything. I was in the system and enrolled," said Gonzalez.

“第三次，我们走通了所有的步骤，我终于投保成功了。”

Irma Pettway, who helped Gonzalez with her application, said enrollees also need help understanding insurance jargon⁸ like co-pay, out-of-pocket expense and deductible. "As we go through the whole application process, we are continually educating them about every step of the way."

帮助冈萨雷斯申请医保的佩特威说，他们还需要帮助参保人理解一些保险术语，比如，共同支付，自付和扣减，等等：“我们一边带他们走过参保的整个过程，一边对他们解释每个环节是什么意思。”

That's necessary because many poor people served by the clinics have never had health insurance, according to the non-profit organization's marketing⁹ director, Marisa Ponti.

非政府组织维西诺医疗中心市场部主任庞蒂说，这很有必要，因为来他们诊所的很多穷人从来没有过医疗保险。

"Harris County, which is in the city of Houston, is the most uninsured county in the whole United States. So for us, any program that will increase access to health care is welcome," she said.

“休斯顿的哈里斯县是全美国参保率最低的县。所以，我们欢迎任何能让民众得到更多医疗照顾的计划。”

Opposition¹⁰ Republicans say the program is causing insurance companies to drop thousands of people from their current plans, however, and ultimately will prove too expensive.

但反对党共和党人指出，平价医保法导致保险公司取消了成千上万人现有的保险，最终将被证明是一个非常昂贵的医保法。

House Speaker John Boehner says it should be scrapped¹¹. "The president's health care law continues to wreak¹² havoc¹³ on American families, small businesses and our economy, and it is not just a website. This bill is fundamentally flawed."

国会众议院议长贝纳认为应当取消平价医保法：“总统的医保法继续冲击美国家庭、小企业以及我们的经济，这不仅是一个网站的问题，而是整个医保法都存在根本性缺陷。”

Ponti says Obamacare, for all its flaws, should be given a chance. "It takes time for people to assimilate all this information, and I think the problems will be tweaked [fixed] as we go along and we all are learning. So we just need to be patient."

庞蒂认为，尽管平价医保法有这样那样的缺陷，但应当给它一个机会：“人们吸收消化所有这些信息需要时间，我认为，随着我们不断去做，不断学习，问题会得到解决。我们只是需要有耐心。”

The health care law could face an even bigger challenge if too few young, healthy people enroll, though, offsetting¹⁴ the cost of insuring the poor and chronically¹⁵ ill.

然而，假如参保的年轻人、健康人太少，不足以抵消穷人和慢性病人的保险开支，平价医保法就会面临更大的挑战。

A poll released by the Harvard Institute for Politics shows that 57 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 disapprove¹⁶ of the law.

哈佛政治研究所公布的一项调查显示，在18岁至29岁这个年龄段，有百分之57的人不赞成平价医保法。

Obama, however, remains¹⁷ confident that younger people will come around and enroll in large numbers before the deadline at the end of March next year.

但奥巴马总统相信，在明年3月底最后期限之前，会有大量的年轻人改变主意，购买医保。