Albany area enrolls in health care marketplace at Phoebe/AAPHC event

ALBANY — Residents in the Albany area were signing up for health care Saturday while Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital partnered with Albany Area Primary Health Care to host an Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace enrollment event.

The goal was to help the community learn about their options and enroll in health coverage for the coming year.

At Phoebe Northwest Conference Center, trained enrollment specialists provided free and confidential assistance, talking with people about their options and sharing other important advice — including how to qualify for financial help, how to start an application and how to re-enroll for coverage.

Organizers said signing up for health insurance is meant to cover essential benefits critical to maintaining one’s well-being, including the treatment of illnesses and accidents, while also helping to protect from high medical costs.

“We are signing up individuals who don’t have coverage,” said Jerry Colson, corporate director for patient access at Phoebe. “We have been doing this for several years (while) partnering with Albany Area Primary Health Care, utilizing their staff, who are licensed navigators, to sign up those who don’t have insurance.”

Colson said charity care cannot cover everything, and that the penalty for not having coverage is out of the affordability range of many households.

“It could be devastating to a household that depends on tax returns,” he said.

Those who have a marketplace plan or other qualifying health coverage do not have to pay a penalty.

Within the first hour, eight individuals came in seeking assistance in obtaining coverage — which was more than officials expected during that time frame. Colson said there was a strong effort to promote the event for those who may have put off signing up for coverage until the last minute.

“It is going well,” he said Saturday. “We would love for everyone to have coverage.

“This is the last push to get coverage unless you have a life-altering event.”

Kimberly Scott, director of the Horizons Disparities Solutions Center, was among those at the event on Saturday helping people navigate the system.

“The ACA is complicated, and people might not understand it,” she said.

Scott said those who did not qualify were still able to discuss their other options as many do not know their options, some fall within the ” Medicaid gap” and others judge what their experience might be based on what they have heard from other.

“It doesn’t hurt to speak to a health navigator,” she said. “(The experience of someone else) might not necessarily be your experience.

“There are people from all walks of life (coming in), and there are those who got stuck. We are able to help them with those difficult situations that people might not be able to navigate at home. It’s good to be able to speak with a licensed navigator to look at all the options for health coverage.”

Health coverage for individuals who enrolled by Jan. 31 will begin March 1. For more information, visit healthcare.gov or phoebehealth.com/ACA.