Program offers help to Georgians in health care search
With open enrollment starting Sunday for coverage through the health insurance marketplace, an initiative in Georgia is working to fill the uninsured gap.
InsureGA, an initiative of Community Health Works, is hosting events and providing virtual navigators to help people subscribe online through healthcare.gov.
It's the second year that InsureGA has handled open enrollment after the University of Georgia was forced to stop because of state legislation.
About 19 percent of Georgians were uninsured in 2014, the second highest in the nation, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
Open enrollment continues until Jan. 31.
"So many people assume they can't afford it until we walk them through the process and see they receive a considerable amount of assistance to pay for the premium," said Katie Smoak Benzur, director of outreach for InsureGA.
This year, InsureGA is hosting seven events in Middle Georgia. Also, there's also a virtual navigation center where people can call for help if they're unable to make the events.
One of the features on healthcare.gov allows people to enter their household information and ZIP code to determine what aid they may receive.
"It may show that this household is eligible for premium tax credits, will suggest that children can be a part of the Children's Health Insurance Program, and some may indicate that the adult is eligible for Medicare," said Lee Schurter, director of virtual operations for InsureGA.
It can be a daunting task trying to figure out what plan best fits their needs.
"We talk with consumers about their health care needs," Schurter said. "If they have a chronic illness and need special medications, we make sure the plan they select will provide the best care for them."
Each marketplace plan also covers some essential health benefits, such as a yearly physical and for women a mammogram and Pap smear. It's important that people who enrolled last year review their account to make sure details such as household income is still correct, Schurter said.
A change in the cost of premiums is determined by location. Overall in Georgia, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows an average of a 6.1 percent increase in 2016.
Penalties for not being insured rise next year, so for some people it's actually cheaper to be covered instead of paying a fine, Smoak Benzur said.
According to healthcare.gov, a family can pay up to $2,085 for not having health coverage in 2016.
Ultimately, InsureGA is there to make the process easy for those in need of coverage.
"Traditionally Community Health Works has worked with uninsured and underserved population so it really made sense," Benzur said. "Access to health care is really important, and it's a need that's not currently being met in all areas."
To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter @stan_telegraph.
InsureGA, an initiative of Community Health Works, is hosting seven events in Middle Georgia to help people sign up at healthcare.gov. Other events can be found insurega.org. Open enrollment runs till Jan. 31. To contact InsureGA call 866-988-8246 Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
Monroe County Hospital Outreach and Education Event
Monroe County Library
62 W. Main St., Forsyth
Nov. 9, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.
Centerville Middle Georgia Community Action Agency Headstart
1009 Carl Vinson Parkway, Centerville
Nov. 10, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Byron MGCAA Headstart
104 Jackson St., Byron
Nov. 11,, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Overview Inc. (Headstart)
120 S. Jefferson St., Milledgeville
Nov. 17, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Central Georgia Technical College
3300 Macon Tech Drive, Macon
Building I, Quad D
Nov. 18, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Nov. 19, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Central Georgia Technical College
54 Ga. 22, Milledgeville
GTC Conference Center, Room H 107
Dec. 2 and 3, 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 10:44 PM with the headline "Program offers help to Georgians in health care search ."