Outreach is Key as ACA Deadline Approaches

Health care navigators and providers are reaching out to the public as the March 31 deadline for the state Health Exchange approaches. North Carolinians who are uninsured must enroll through the Health Insurance Marketplace by the end of next month. 

Novant Health is among those providing public information sessions this week. Their event will take place tomorrow from 2 to 6 p.m.Thursday at the Forsyth Medical Center conference center, 3333 Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem.

Bob Seehausen is Novant's senior vice president for business development and sales. He says a broad range of experts will be available.

"We've got about a dozen brokers from the community - these are people who are licensed to help people purchase health insurance," he says. "We've got some of our financial counselors who can help people understand some of the options that might be available outside the health exchange. We're going to have a couple of our interpreters there for folks who don't have English as a primary language. And we're going to have three folks from the healthcare access department, which is a community resource in this market for people who haven't had coverage historically."

Enrollment for the exchange opened in October. A recent report from the federal Department of Health and Human Services says more than 160,000 North Carolinians have enrolled. Seehausen says that's a pretty good start.

"We operate in three different states, and North Carolina has the highest both absolute and percentage numbers of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. We're actually doing better than the national numbers.

Seehausen said community outreach efforts have helped boost those numbers. In addition to the information about the health exchange, Novant will also be offering pre-diabetes, obesity and blood pressure screenings.