The Affordable Care Act is coming to Wyoming and the Enroll Wyoming initiative is doing its best to make sure citizens make informed decisions about their health care plan.
Their mission is to inform Wyomingites about what coverage is available and insure that everyone is enrolled.
“The goal is to inform and educate folks about what insurance options are available to the market place,” Nurse Consultant at The Wyoming Health Counsel Brenda Burnett said.
Since enrollment began for the Affordable Care Act last year, 11,970 Wyoming citizens have selected a plan. During the last Open Enrollment period Albany County’s uninsured rate dropped from 16 percent to 12 percent.
“There are more options available and it provides opportunities where there were none for some,” Communication and Outreach Enrollment Manager Hannah Wickey said.
The statewide initiative consists of what are called assistors, which are classified into two groups, Navigators and Certified Application Counselors, CACs.
Navigators and CACs work together to help enrollees find the best option for them.
“We have a group of navigators who educate people on their health care and help them to see what options are available,” Wickey said. “Certified Application Counselors focus on actually enrolling as well as answering questions.”
Open enrollment events are being held periodically across the state to aid in the enrollment process. There will be one held in the University of Wyoming Union breezeway tomorrow during the Holiday Market.
“We are going to have a table there and a sister from Laramie Reproductive Health and they are going to provide information to anybody who is interested,” Burnett said.
Both a navigator and a CAC will be available to inform students about the Affordable Care Act as well as get them enrolled.
“It’s very easy they can just come in and simply ask questions,” Wickey said. “There is a lot of confusion about the Affordable Care Act and they give objective info. They are really great for that and they can get assistance and even actually get them enrolled.”
Interested students should bring a valid email address, social security numbers, birth dates, household income information and any current health insurance policies to the event. Those who decide to enroll during the event will have coverage beginning January 1.
“A lot of university students already are going into debt with student loans,” Wickey said. “They really do not need to add medical debt on top of that. The Marketplace Health Insurance program that Enroll Wyoming works to educate people on can help students avoid that.”
