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WARRENSBURG – Open enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace begins Nov. 1, and Care Connection for Aging Services and University of Central Missouri will offer a free event to help people enroll in the insurance, sometimes called Obamacare.
Care Connection will have trained “navigators” who will guide people through the choices of health insurance during the enrollment event from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 5 in Dockery 205 on the University of Central Missouri campus. People may park in the visitors’ lot at South and Maguire streets, adjacent to Dockery.
The event is for people of all ages who need to enroll themselves or their families in the Health Insurance Marketplace for 2016.
In Missouri, more than 253,000 people enrolled in the Marketplace last year, according to the Missouri Foundation for Health. Of those, 88 percent received a tax credit to help pay for premiums. On average, a $281 tax credit was applied to the monthly premium of $363, meaning that the consumer paid on average $82 a month after the tax credits.
It’s those tax credits that make the Health Insurance Marketplace coverage affordable for consumers, according to Marilyn Gunter, Director of Care Management for Care Connection.
Care Connection’s licensed navigators help people through the maze of the online Marketplace, which was established by the federal government. Open enrollment will continue through Jan. 31. People who already have a Marketplace plan are encouraged to review their options for the new plan year.
Most people must have health insurance or face a fee of 2.5 percent of their household income, or $695 for each adult and $347.50 for each child in 2016 – whichever is higher, according to the federal government. The law requires most people to carry health insurance – Medicaid, Medicare, an individual plan, a job-based group plan or a Marketplace plan.
If you cannot attend the event and have questions on the Health Insurance Marketplace, call us at 1-800-748-7826 or visit www.healthcare.gov.