Getting More Latinos Covered with Health Insurance

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SaludToday Guest Blogger: Annette Raveneau
National Latino Press Secretary, Enroll America

Obamacare’s open enrollment ends Feb. 15.

But what does that mean exactly? I did not know what any lingo related to the health insurance industry meant even when I had health insurance through my previous jobs.

Well, open enrollment is the window of opportunity you have to choose a health plan or switch from the one you have to another one. With the Health Insurance Marketplace – which is the market that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) established so everybody that is uninsured or underinsured can shop for quality, affordable health insurance – the open enrollment period for this year is from Nov. 15, 2014 until Feb. 15, 2015. So, this window is closing in less than a month.

Thanks to Obamacare, Latinos have made important gains in coverage over the last year – but there are still millions more of us who can benefit from the new options available to us.

Over the next few weeks, organizations like the one I work for, Get Covered America, will ramp up efforts in Latino communities to make sure Latinos have the tools they need to get covered by Feb. 15.

There is no feeling like knowing that you have health insurance that you can use for any health emergencies, when you need to go to the doctor for your annual checkups, blood work, etc.

Hey, I know! I was without insurance for a few years and when I got sick and weeks later I was not getting any better with the over-the-counter medications, I realized it was time to go to the doctor. Just the thought overwhelms you with fear. Knowing that going to the doctor is expensive, regardless of how expensive is “expensive” because you are just working with limited funds. My reality and thoughts simply paralyzed me with fear.

That’s why it’s personally important to me that as many Latinos as possible get covered.

With less than a month until the Feb. 15 deadline to sign up for health coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, Get Covered America is teaming up with local and national enrollment partners to engage Latino communities across the country.

In fact, to encourage people to start exploring their health insurance options, we have over 600 enrollment events with free English and Spanish-language assistance in Latino communities during the final 30 days of open enrollment. These events will help Latinos and their families have the resources they need to enroll in quality, affordable health insurance.

In fact, you can use our Connector to search for a location that is close to you and even book an appointment with an expert that can answer your questions and enroll you at no charge to you.

Read the full guest blog post here!