Open Enrollment for Health Insurance is Here!

Open Enrollment for Health Insurance is Here!

Open Enrollment is here!

Open Enrollment for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) begins this Sunday, November 1st!

It is time to welcome consumers back to as the Health Insurance Marketplace opens for the its third open enrollment period- that means that folks can start shopping for a health insurance plan that fits their needs and their budget or for a different plan than the one they currently have. 

Since the ACA’s coverage provisions started, over 17.6 million uninsured Americans have been able to get health insurance coverage.  HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced that HHS expects 10 million individuals to be enrolled in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace and to pay their premiums by the close of 2016.  As part of that goal, HHS believes more than 1 out of every 4 uninsured Marketplace-eligible consumers will select plans during Open Enrollment.

To make sure these eligible consumers know about benefits they qualify for, we need your help. 

As faith and community leaders, you can use the resources below to spread the good news  to individuals and families in your communities and congregations about the opportunity to sign up for health insurance.  

Include key messages as a part of your regular communications: During Open Enrollment, we will be highlighting materials and messages developed with faith and community leaders in mind. They include bulletin inserts, one pagers, and fact sheets. These items will be available throughout Open Enrollment. In addition, our Center has developed specific materials to be used during the Thanksgiving Holiday, as well as New Years and Martin Luther King Weekend. 

Faith Weekends of Action: Faith Weekends of Action  occur every second weekend of November, December, and January during Open Enrollment.  

• November 6th through 8th
• December 11th through 13th
• January 8th through 10th

Consider how your community can be involved by sharing information in your congregations and hosting events. 

Webinars: Register to attend to webinar to learn more about health insurance marketplace and learn how you can get more involved. 

Throughout Open Enrollment from November 1st to January 31st, we want to encourage faith and community based partners to get involved to help people get covered.  

Health Care Law Toolkit for Faith and Community-based Organizations

The 2016 Health Care Law Toolkit can help faith and community leaders learn and educate others about the health care law. These materials can be used at enrollment events and for other education and outreach efforts. Get the complete toolkit or download each section of the toolkit below:

Also, consider using these materials for Education and Outreach available through the Health Insurance Marketplace:

• Get Covered: A one-page guide to the Health Insurance Marketplace
• Apply for or Renew your Health Insurance Marketplace Coverage
• Marketplace Application Checklist
• Four Ways to Get Marketplace Coverage
• Five Steps to Staying Covered Through The Marketplace
• No computer? You can still get Marketplace Coverage

Additional Resources

Check out these additional links to more information that could be helpful to learn more about the Health Insurance Marketplace.

• More basic information on the health care law is available athttp://marketplace.cms.gov/
• Sign up to receive HHS Partnership Center webinar notices, newsletter and to view health care law webinars
• Don’t just help people sign up for health insurance, make sure they know how to use by visiting http://marketplace.cms.gov/c2c
• To sign up for the Affordable Care Act Partnerships Update, emailLisa.Carr@cms.hhs.gov and include “Add me to the Partnerships Update” as the subject

From Coverage to Care

We want to make sure once people sign up for health insurance that everyone learns about how to use their coverage-- the actual benefits they receive-- like wellness check- ups and preventive services.  Preventive services can include mammograms, obesity screening and counseling, immunizations and mental health services —the more likely they are to enroll in coverage, stay covered, and make the commitment to healthier lives for themselves and for their families. To gain access to the primary resources including the Roadmap to Better Care and a Healthier You and From Coverage to Care, Enrollment Toolkit, please visit Marketplace.cms.gov/c2c .  The site holds a rich array of resources for community resources in multiple languages.