With the Dec. 23 deadline to enroll in the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplace approaching, many local residents sought assistance from the Flathead Community Health Center last week.

At several locations last week, the health center offered help signing up for health insurance or basic information about the health-care law.

Christine Neater, an outreach specialist at the health center, said the reaction from inquisitive folks had been encouraging before the public assistance sessions.

“We’ve had a great response already,” she said. “The one-on-one help is taking an hour at a time, so we wanted to be able to help more people.”

On Thursday and Friday, the Flathead County Library was a whirl of people getting information and help.

Kellie Combs, the other outreach representative at the health center, said over five days she and Neater helped around 70 people sign up for insurance.

“I think it went really good,” Combs said. “Everything was working really well and people seemed to leave happy.”

Yvonne Peck was just looking for a little help navigating the healthcare.gov website.

“I had some trouble with the website,” she said. “I just really want to know how to get myself signed up.”

Peck wasn’t sure what the ramifications of the Affordable Care Act would be, but she said it was a step in the right direction to reform the U.S. health-care system.

The purpose of the Affordable Care Act, as drafted in 2010, was to insure millions of Americans who lacked health insurance. 

For Mike Turner, who was at the library on Thursday afternoon, the new insurance system could be a boon for his wife and her medical issues.

“She’s had four hospital stays that have cost more than $120,000,” he said. “We’re never going to be able to pay that off, so I just want to see what they’ve got.”

Turner’s hefty bill would be folded into the local hospitals’ bad debt or charity care bills in the pre-Obamacare system. Kalispell Regional Medical Center ate more than $40 million of charity care and bad debt last year, and North Valley Hospital had well over $5 million.

Jim Oliverson, vice president at Kalispell Regional, said previously that he believes the bad debt will drop considerably — without a subsequent drop in quality of health care — with the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act. 

The federal marketplace to which Montana is subscribed is for people who are not offered “affordable” insurance by their employer and are under 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

To be insured by the Jan. 1, 2014, deadline and avoid a fine, people must sign up by Monday, Dec. 23. This date was pushed back once already thanks to website foul-ups.

The Flathead Community Health Center will still take scheduled appointments to assist people who missed the public sign-ups last week. Call 758-2165 or email outreach@flathead.mt.gov to schedule an appointment. 

Health center representatives will offer public help regarding the Affordable Care Act on Wednesday, Dec. 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Professional Center, 711 E. 13th St., Whitefish.

Reporter Ryan Murray may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at rmurray@dailyinterlake.com.