(Health Care Coverage Options Available by Joanne Cochran, president and CEO of Keystone Health, first appeared in a July 2014 edition of the Public Opinion Newspaper. Click here to read it at www.publicopiniononline.com.)
Joanne Cochran, president and CEO of Keystone Health, explains ways to get health care coverage now.
Health Care Help
The Health Insurance Exchange and Marketplace that helps people purchase insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act is closed until November. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get healthcare coverage through other options. Here are some things to consider if you still haven’t signed up for health coverage.
CHIP
The Pennsylvania Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, is a program to help uninsured children and teens who are not covered by Medical Assistance. This affordable and comprehensible health care coverage can help kids who need insurance for health, dental, and vision services. It can also help those with existing coverage that doesn’t go far enough. Enrollment is open anytime.
Medical Assistance
Medical Assistance, also known as Medicaid, can help people with eligible low income or high medical expenses to get access to important physical health and mental health services in Pennsylvania. Qualification is based on income and those who are eligible can sign up at any time during the year. If you qualify, your coverage can begin immediately.
Have coverage but experienced a life change?
If you have health care coverage but have married, divorced, lost a job, had a baby, moved to another state or experienced another kind of major life change, you must update your status. It’s called a qualifying life event and you could be entitled to more benefits based on your current situation. These changes must be reported by phone or online.
Help is available
If applying for CHIP, Medical Assistance or making changes through the healthcare marketplaces is daunting, there is free help available. Keystone Health Outreach Enrollment Navigators can assist with finding health insurance options through CHIP or Medical Assistance, as well as connect anyone who doesn’t qualify for these services to other community assistance options.
Click HERE to visit our Outreach Enrollment website. Our navigators are available to help if you are interested in learning more about health care coverage options for your family. You can also call (717) 709-7969 to speak to a navigator.
