Woman with Type 2 diabetes sees premiums plummet from $500 to $1 under Obamacare

A retired woman in Pittsburgh, who suffers from Type 2 diabetes, is celebrating after she said her monthly health insurance premiums went from over $500 to just over $1 because of President Barack Obama's health care reform law.

Since the October 1 roll-out of the Affordable Care Act, many Republicans and much of the media have been focused on the fact that a small percentage of Americans have been not been able to keep low-quality insurance plans that failed to meet federal standards.

But 57-year-old Gail Roach told WTAE that she found a great deal by completing her application by phone instead of using the broken Healthcare.gov website.

Roach said that because of her pre-existing condition, her retirement health care had cost her $509 a month. After spending some time talking to a specialist, she was able to find a plan for just $70 a month.

"I couldn't believe it, I just couldn't believe it," Roach recalled. "It was within my budget."

However, the savings didn't stop there. After tax credits and something called the Cost Sharing Benefit, Roach's monthly premiums plummeted to just $1.11.

"I'm telling people that they need to look into this, they need to be patient about it," she advised. "If you go on the website and you can't get through the website, call the number that's on the website and just be very patient because it's very much worth it."

Watch this video from WTAE.