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Standing at a table with pamphlets, flyers and business cards, Laura Polo greeted people with a cheerful hello and a big smile as they walked around during a recent community holiday fair in West Philadelphia.
“If you know someone that needs health insurance, if they don’t qualify for Medicaid or Medicare, Pennie’s the marketplace for them,” she told one woman who passed through and said she’d take the papers home to her adult daughter to look at.
Polo is one of about 240 state-certified enrollment assisters who help guide people through the process of shopping or changing insurance plans on Pennie, which is Pennsylvania’s Affordable Care Act marketplace.
During a typical open enrollment period, which starts Nov. 1 every year, Polo said people have the usual questions: What do the deductible numbers mean? How do they find the Pennie shopper tool online? What documents do they need to enroll?
But this year has been especially chaotic, Polo said, as she finds herself helping more people who are stressed and panicked about the cost of their coverage in 2026.
Pennie enrollment assisters help answer questions about health insurance and provide free open enrollment support over the phone or in person at community events. Assisters with the Mendoza Group handed out flyers and pamphlets at a recent community holiday fair in West Philadelphia on Sat., Dec. 20, 2025. (Nicole Leonard/WHYY)
On average, out-of-pocket monthly premium costs will double in Pennsylvania, according to state officials. That’s due to a combination of rising insurance rates and the loss of boosted federal tax subsidies, which previously helped lower those monthly payments.
Without action from Congress, the advanced premium tax credits will expire in just a few days.
Meanwhile, enrollment assisters like Polo and other licensed brokers and insurance agents are hunting down resources and affordable options for people who face tough financial decisions.
“We’re going to do everything we can to ultimately give you some information so you don’t walk away thinking, ‘What am I going to do?’” Polo said.