The deadline to register or renew for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act is upon us.

Friday, Dec. 15 is the last day to register and if you miss the deadline you may have to wait another year to sign up unless you qualify for a special enrollment period, according to www.healthcare.gov.

Carl Dahlquist, outreach enrollment supervisor at Gulf Coast Health Center Inc., said the center is currently enrolling people and renewing people’s insurance through the Marketplace – a service that helps people search for and enroll in affordable health insurance.

“We have been enrolling people since open enrollment began and will continue helping until we close,” Dahlquist said. “As far as Gulf Coast Health Center is concerned, people have until 5 p.m. Friday to come in. As far as the ACA, they can go online or call the Marketplace until midnight.”

To date, GCHC has had 224 applications, 161 of which were approved, 60 were denied for various reasons and three are still in the pending process meaning, they are waiting on the client to get back to them with an answer on which insurance plan they want to enroll in.

The number of applicants at the center is comparable to last year but also shed light on some confusion about whether the ACA would be repealed and if so, when.

“I believe so,” he said when asked if the figures were comparable. “Because of the presidential election, people not knowing what to do, people were a little slow last year (to register or renew). This is year five and year three was better than year four. With everything said during the presidential election, repeal and replace, people didn’t know what to do last year. The numbers are still down.”

Dahlquist said the majority of people who come in for assistance are in need and get the insurance — “the majority still need it.”

“With all of the talk going on in the federal circle, if people need it then come and sign up for it,” he said. “Don’t worry about what everybody is saying. It (change) would be three to four years down the road. It’s not going to happen overnight.”

Gulf Coast Health Center Inc. is located at 2548 Memorial Blvd. and can be reached by calling 983-1161.

For information on the ACA and how to apply, go to www.healthcare.gov