Guest Commentary: #GetCoveredNow and Help Get the Word Out

November 14, 2017

By: Emily Barson, Get America Covered

The deadline to sign up for health insurance is December 15 in most states—just a month away. With new deadlines and a lot of misinformation out there, we need your help to get the word out about open enrollment. Take Action!

This year, the federal government is not interested in getting that word out, so we started Get America Covered to fill in that gap - to help people get covered and stay covered.

The biggest challenge we’re facing this Open Enrollment period is that people don’t know that it’s time to sign up or think that coverage is too expensive and out of reach for them.

That’s where all of us can help. If we are going to cut through the confusion and get the facts out, we need your help. Everyone can help spread the word about a few key facts about Open Enrollment:

  • The Open Enrollment period for health coverage is shorter this year - the deadline for enrolling is December 15 in most states. Even people who have coverage need to return to healthcare.gov by the deadline and shop around to see if they can find a better deal for their 2018 coverage.
  • The good news is that, thanks to financial assistance, most consumers can find cheaper plans this year - in fact, 8 out of 10 people can find plans for less than $75 per month and most can find plans for less than $50. There are a lot of states and counties where there are zero dollar plans available for both individuals and couples.
  • Free help is available. If you have questions about signing up or want to talk through your options with a trained professional, free help is just a call or click away. Call 1-800-318-2596 or visit http://localhelp.healthcare.gov.

We need your help to spread the word.

Can you use your social media and email lists to share enrollment information? Can you mobilize your community to form a street team and spread the word about Open Enrollment in your community?

Open Enrollment is just half the time as in previous years, so we need to make sure people know it’s time to #GetCovered! Download our Open Enrollment toolkit and Best Practices for State Officials now.

Emily Barson is a former Obama Administration official at the Department of Health and Human Services who helped lead outreach efforts around the Affordable Care Act and is now leading outreach efforts at Get America Covered.

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