11-18-14 Feature Story:
In the first three days of Open Enrollment for 2015, nearly 21,000 individuals and families have received eligibility determinations for Affordable Care Act coverage through the new Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange ("MA HIX") website. Of those 21,000, 5,015 have qualified for subsidized ConnectorCare plans and another 8,536 have been enrolled in MassHealth, the state's Medicaid program.
More than 460 certified application assistants and navigators will help residents apply for coverage at more than 300 community health center sites across the state. Heather Goodhind, a navigator at Caring Health Center in Springfield, is currently featured in a television ad (pictured above) that was produced by the Connector as part of a comprehensive and targeted public outreach campaign that also includes direct mail, door-knocking, phone calls and a series of public information and enrollment events that will take place throughout the state. To watch her story on Youtube, click here.
Massachusetts health centers have enrolled more than 250,000 residents into health coverage since passage of the state's landmark health reform law in 2006. Last year, despite major technology glitches with the state's new eligibility and enrollment system, health center outreach staff assisted nearly 300,000 patients in need of enrollment help, facilitated the completion of more than 114,000 insurance applications and successfully enrolled some 73,000 state residents into new coverage.
The League has produced multi-lingual outreach materials encouraging patients to take action between November 15, 2014 and February 15, 2015. Please click here to view flyers in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese (Traditional), Brazilian Portuguese, Continental Portuguese, Haitian Creole and Vietnamese.
Navigators like Heather and Queyron (also featured in the televsion ad) work through the Massachusetts Health Connector and are here to help individuals and families apply for health insurance plans, save money, and find the coverage they need. Watch their story here, and learn more at MAhealthconnector.org.
