Mar 16, 2021 6:00 AM EDT At several points last year, Louise Snodgrass experienced some COVID-like symptoms, but worried each time how much testing or treatment would cost without health insurance. “I would have set up a doctor’s appointment if I had insurance,” said Snodgrass, 26, who works two jobs to make ends meet in Brookings, South Dakota. “Instead I sat there thinking, ‘What the heck am I going to do? I don’t even know if I’m going to get tested.’” Eventually Snodgrass was able to get tested — the result was negative — after a boss offered to pay for a $76 rapid test at a pharmacy. The experience helped persuade Snodgrass in January to purchase an insurance plan through the federal exchange under the Affordable Care Act. But the $40-per-month plan, after subsidies, has a $6,000 deductible that still puts many health care needs out of reach.