Insurance Enrollment Event Set for Tuesday
Posted on Friday, January 9th, 2015
Enrollment Event for Uninsured Residents Set for Tuesday
The Love County Community Coalition will sponsor an event for uninsured residents to sign up to begin receiving health insurance coverage from 2 pm. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, January 13, at Mercy Health/Love County Hospital's Therapy Building in Marietta.
Representativs of Medicaid, Insure Oklahma, and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Health Insurance Marketplace plans will be present to screen resients and provide enrollment information.
No appointment is necessary. Residents should bring information about household size and expected income for 2015. They will be screened for eligibility for subsidized plan coverage for the type of health insurance their circumstances may warrant.
Porividing services will be Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA), Big 5 Community Services, Pearman Insurance, and State Farm Insurance.
OHCA, 1-888-365-3742, is the state agency that operates Medicaid and Insure Oklahoma. Some low-income resident who do not earn enough to qualify for a subsidized plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace may be eligible for Medicaid or Insure Oklahma.
Big 5 Community Services, 276-3154, has certified plan navigators who can help with questions and enrollments for any of the Oklahoma plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace at www.healthcare.gov.
Pearman Insurance, 276-3672, and State Farm Insurance, 276-3388, are agents of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahma, which has the largest number of plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
There is no cost for screening or enrollment assistance from any of the participating agencies.
Uninsured residents eligible for a Health Insurance Marketplace plan have until February 15 to enroll for 2015 or face apeanalty for not having sufficienthealth insurance.
In 2014, the penalty was 1% of income with a maximum of $95 per person. For 2015, the minimum fine rises to $325 per person.
Some uninsured people, including American Indians and people below the poverty line are exempt from fines.
Considered alerady covered under th eaffordable Care Act are people who have a job-based plan, a plan they purchased, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, Indian Health Services, or Insure Oklahoma plan that meets minimum essential coverage.
"Minimum essential coverage" means the plan is comprehensive to include such care as hospital stays, doctor's visits, surgery, medical devices, rehabilitation, prescription drugs, mental health, maternity, pediatric, and substance abuse treatment.