Going without health insurance

Many families will still be able to get health coverage this year, thanks to the latest deadline extension for enrolling through the Affordable Care Act. But countless people won't, because all the extended sign-up periods in the world won't change the fact that they still can't afford coverage. Some still refuse to enroll out of opposition to Obamacare itself. Others aren't clear on the ramifications of not registering or have their own blend of reasons for not doing it. For weeks, President Obama pointed to March 31 as the absolute final deadline for enrolling and getting health coverage in 2014. Last week, his administration said it would loosen the deadline for those with 'complex or extenuating' circumstances, and for those who start the process by March 31. Officials said an honor system would be used for new applicants, making it hazy as to how the loosened deadline would be enforced. Regardless, people who ultimately fail to sign up this year will likely pay a fine with their 2014 taxes. They'll also forego health coverage until at least January 2015, unless a unique development arises such as losing a job, getting married or moving. Here are the stories of several who say they can't or won't sign up this year:

Carol Hester

Carol Hester, 40, is married and lives in Gaston County. She and her husband have two children in college, ages 21 and 20. Hester said her coverage was good for some time. 'I had insurance through my work for the past three years, paying about $75 a week for the whole family,' she said. That included vision and dental coverage. And it was a resource they rarely needed. 'We have no health issues, so we never really used it,' she said. She knows that's likely to change with each passing year.

'We are getting older and will need it,' she said. But the plan she enjoyed through her employer will no longer be available. And her husband's employer doesn't offer coverage. Hester checked the insurance marketplace on healthcare.gov and sought advice on signing up. But she learned that due to her husband's income, they won't be eligible for a subsidy to help pay their premium. 'I expected my insurance to stay the same or maybe go up to $100 a week - not to almost $300 a week,' she said. 'I make $2.13 an hour.' Her paycheck didn't even cover the $75 a week she paid for insurance before. She had to be creative and frugal in coming up with the money. The cheapest premium she could find on the health care marketplace required an $800 monthly payment.

'Still more than double what I was paying, with less coverage and bigger deductibles,' she said. Breast cancer runs in both sides of Hester's family. Having just turned 40, she should be receiving regular breast exams now. But she can't afford it. 'I worry that a medical emergency will cripple us,' she said.

Emily Swindell

Emily Swindell didn't really care when the healthcare.gov website was practically useless in its infancy late last year. After the Obama administration worked out the kinks and made it operational, she cared even less. 'I haven't been on there, and I don't plan to,' she said. 'I don't agree with Obamacare.' It's not that Swindell and her family would never benefit from health insurance. They've just learned to get by without it. And the last thing they plan to do is placate the government by signing up for a 'mandatory' policy on the marketplace. Swindell, 31, and her husband, 45, operate Race City BBQ in Denver and will soon open a Gaston County location. Their three sons are 6, 3 and 8 months old. The Swindells have always been healthy and made their own way when it comes to health coverage. They have opposed the Affordable Care Act from the beginning. They rue its existence philosophically and oppose the notion that their premiums would help foot the bill for other people's health coverage, including procedures such as abortions. 'It involves subsidizing it for people who aren't making an effort to pay for it themselves,' she said. 'If I don't use health care because I don't need it, I'm not going to support something I don't believe in.' The penalty for not having health insurance in 2014 will be either $95 or 1 percent of taxable income for the year, whichever is highest. Even for people with more moderate incomes, officials say it's important to remember a penalty will be assessed for every family member who lacks health coverage. Swindell said she and her family will cope with whatever charges are thrown their way. 'I don't care what the fee is, to be honest with you,' she said. 'When they said we'd be required to buy and started talking about a deadline, I immediately rebelled. 'I don't think you should be forced to buy something.'