“USF, Get Covered!” open to university campus, community; anyone with questions about coverage welcome

Tampa, FL (March. 24, 2014) – As the March 31 deadline to enroll for coverage under the Affordable Care Act nears, two on-site community outreach events to help consumers learn more their options through the Health Insurance Marketplace will be held at the University of South Florida Tampa campus this week and next.

Navigators from USF Health’s Florida Covering Kids & Families program, in partnership with USF Student Health Services, will host the following two “USF, Get Covered!” events:

–          Wednesday March 26:  9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., USF Marshall Student Center

–          Monday, March 31 (last day for open enrollment in 2014): 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., USF Student Health Services Annex Conference Room

Representatives from Enroll America will offer education about the Marketplace, and navigators can help individuals and families sort out the coverage choices and guide those interested in enrolling through the application process.

Walk-ins are welcome, but will be assisted on a first-come, first-served basis; therefore, registration is recommended.  Accommodations for people with disabilities or those who speak other languages can be made when scheduling an appointment. Visitors parking on the USF Tampa campus are required to purchase a daily parking permit.

To register in advance, please email mchavez1@health.usf.edu, or call (813) 974-0176. 

 The $4.2 million navigator grant awarded to USF last year was the largest in Florida. USF Health works with 10 consortium partners statewide to help those who want assistance shopping for and enrolling in private healthcare insurance available through the online marketplace.

                                                                                                                                                                 -USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a Top 50 research university in total research expenditures among both public and private institutions nationwide, according to the National Science Foundation. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

 Media contact:
Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications
(813) 974-3303, or abaier@health.usf.edu

Tamina Johnson, a USF engineering sciences doctoral student, knows a lot about the complexities of proteins, but she needed a little help when it came to choosing healthcare insurance for the first time.

Johnson, 29, was among the consumers from across campus and the surrounding community, including 15 USF students, who were assisted at the March 6 “Nav-Lab Enrollment Blowout” at USF Health.

Representatives from Enroll America offered education about the Health Insurance Marketplace, while navigators from USF Health, Florida CHAIN and Covering Tampa Bay, helped individuals and families interested in enrolling with the application process.

USF graduate student Tamina Johnson, left, discusses her healthcare coverage options with Catherine Fuhrman, a navigator with the Family Healthcare Foundation.

“There are a lot of scenarios for coverage, so coming in today really helped guide me through the options,” said Johnson, who kept her Nav-Lab appointment despite the downpour and mid-day tornado warnings.

Johnson began looking at plans online in November. She said she wants health insurance but has difficulty affording it as a graduate student.  She was pleased to find that she could sign up for a plan through the marketplace that would provide significant savings.

“This way I don’t have to pay as much, because I also need money to live on and eat with,” she said.

Jodi Ray, project director for Florida Covering Kids & Families based at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, leads more than 100 navigators across Florida, which has the second highest rate of uninsured in the country.

Jodi Ray, project director of the Florida Covering Kids & Families program at the Chiles Center for Health Mothers and Babies, USF College of Public Health, oversees the USF navigator grant, the largest in the state.

As the March 31 deadline to enroll for coverage under the Affordable Care Act this year nears, the USF navigator group continues to team with its consortium partners to push community outreach initiatives targeting uninsured Floridians, Ray said. That includes, she said, the so-called “young invincibles,” adults 18 to 34, an age range that tends to be healthier and can help balance out risk in the insurance pool to keep premiums in check.

Kristen Nash, a political science graduate student at USF, has worked at the grassroots level on campus and in the community to help get more of her young adult peers covered.

Kristen Nash, 23, a USF political science graduate student and field organizer for Enroll America, says she feels fortunate to be covered as a dependent under her parents’ health insurance plan.  But, she said, that isn’t always an option for young adults under age 26.

“A significant number of students cannot remain under a parent’s plan, either because their parents cannot afford to add them to an employer’s health insurance policy through work, their parents are retired, or for some other reason,” Nash said.

USF navigator project coordinator Xonjenese Jacobs, right, with Ryan Morris, a health organizer for Florida CHAIN.

Both Ray and Nash point out a young person injured in an accident or even hit with a sudden illness can quickly run into financial difficulty when medical bills mount.

“It’s really important to get covered,” Nash said. “Starting early with preventive care, which is free under the plans, can help us live better.”

USF Navigators will offer another onsite event to help those interested  find out about healthcare coverage from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday, March 17, at USF Student Health Services.  To register, email mchavez1@health.usf.edu or call 813-974-0176; walks-in are also welcome.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

“Nav-Lab” open to USF campus, community; anyone with questions about coverage welcome

Tampa, FL (Feb. 25, 2014) — An on-site community outreach event to help consumers learn more about their enrollment options in the federal Health Insurance Marketplace will be held 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday March 6, in the USF Health Computer Lab at the Faculty Office Building (first floor), 13220 USF Laurel Drive, Tampa, FL 33612.

Navigators from USF Health, joined by those from Florida CHAIN and Covering Tampa Bay, will be able to assist 40 people an hour.   Representatives from Enroll America will offer education about the Marketplace, and navigators can help individuals and families sort out the coverage choices and guide those interested in enrolling through the application process.

“Getting covered is about taking personal responsibility for your health and financial well-being,” said Jodi Ray, project director of the Florida Covering Kids & Families program at the USF Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, College of Public Health. “We can help people navigate the Marketplace to find a plan that provides the care they need and fits their budgets.”

The $4.2 million navigator grant awarded to the University of South Florida last year was the largest in Florida. USF Health works with 10 consortium partners across the state to help those who want assistance shopping for and enrolling in private healthcare insurance available through the online marketplace.

The deadline this year to enroll for coverage under the Affordable Care Act is March 31.

“Nav-Lab” walk-ins are welcome, but registration is recommended because parking is limited.

For more information or to register, please email mchavez1@health.usf.edu, or call (813) 974-0176.  Accommodations for people with disabilities or those who speak other languages can be made when appointments are scheduled.

Visitors parking on the USF Tampa campus are required to purchase a daily parking permit.  USF students, faculty and staff may park in the Laurel Drive Parking Garage, top floor, or Lot 42 adjacent to the garage. In addition, a Bull runner shuttle stops at the corner of Laurel and Holly Drives, immediately in front of the Faculty Office Building, where the Nav-Lab event will be.

USF Health navigator Michelle Ray assists a consumer with enrollment.

                                                                                                       -USF Health-

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a Top 50 research university in total research expenditures among both public and private institutions nationwide, according to the National Science Foundation. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Media Contact:
Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications
abaier@health.usf.edu or (813) 974-3300

Chris Dawson, 20, reared by his grandparents, lost health insurance when he “aged out” of the state foster care system at age 18.  So, the University of South Florida College of Public Health student said he was eager to be one of the first Tampa Bay consumers to seek navigator assistance when the Health Insurance Marketplace launched Oct. 1.

For the last two years, Dawson has been unable to pay out of pocket to treat flare-ups of bronchitis and recurrent sinus infections.  “I know many other students in my same circumstances — not covered because health insurance is simply not affordable,” Dawson said. “There shouldn’t be a battle between buying food and healthcare coverage.”

Jodi Ray, project director of the Florida Covering Kids and Families program at the Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, USF College of Public Health, with Chris Dawson, a USF public health student, at the recent panel discussion on affordable health care.

Savanah Goodland, 23, a part-time St. Petersburg College student, supports herself as a full-time waitress but receives no benefits.  Goodland’s uninsured younger brother has a congenital heart defect and a recent health scare generated thousands of dollars in hospital bills. Under a provision of the Affordable Care Act, starting in 2014, most plans cannot deny coverage or charge more to individuals, with a pre-existing health condition, like Goodland’s brother.

“We’ve been given a new day,” said Goodland, referring to the opportunity she and her brother have to apply for coverage through the marketplace.

Dawson and Goodland participated in a panel discussion Oct. 8 with U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Tampa area navigators and consumers.  The event was held at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation.   Jodi Ray, project director for Florida Covering Kids and Families (FL-CKF) program, part of the Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, USF College of Public Health, moderated the panel.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius joined the panel of Tampa area navigators and consumers.

In August, the FL-CKF program received a $4.2-million navigator grant – the largest grant of eight such grants awarded in Florida — to help educate and enroll consumers in the marketplace.  The online marketplace is aimed at those cannot obtain affordable coverage through employers or government programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

“We’ve been busy,” Ray said of the USF-based navigator office and USF’s 10 consortium partners across the state.

The Healthcare.gov site had more than 10 million hits its first week.  Even while technicians are working 24/7 to improve the site, Sebelius said, grassroots efforts in communities across the country continue to help people apply to the insurance marketplace – online, over the phone, and with paper applications.

“It’s important to remember this first open enrollment period is 26 weeks… the earliest any benefits start is January 1.  Prices (for plans) are locked in; we won’t run out of product,” Sebelius said.  “We are very pleased with the USF navigation grant efforts.  Jodi’s organization has had lots of experience helping families understand affordable health care.”

Sebelius answers media questions following the event at the USF Health Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation.

Over the years, Ray has managed a network of collaborative partnerships and served as principal investigator on several federal, state and private grants aimed at increasing enrollment in Florida KidCare, the state’s Children’s Health Coverage Program (CHIP) and Medicaid. In January, the efforts earned Ray and USF national recognition from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services with the esteemed Excellence in Children’s Health Outreach and Enrollment award.

City of Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Donna Peterson, interim senior vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF College of Public Health, welcomed Sebelius, community leaders, media and others who gathered for the panel discussion.

“We want to continue the conversation,” Petersen said. “How will we assure that the citizens of Tampa, Florida and the country have every opportunity to be healthy… to access quality healthcare?  That’s our mission at USF Health and speaks to the core values of our community.”

At 23 percent, Florida has the nation’s second-highest rate of residents without health insurance, surpassed only by Texas.

To check out the marketplace, go to www.healthcare.gov (Localhelp.healthcare.gov), or call 1-800-318-2596.

Sebelius with panel moderator USF Health’s Jodi Ray

L to R: Consumers Savanah Goodland and Chris Dawson, and USF lead navigator Michelle Ray.

Photos by Eric Younghans, USF Health Communications

RELATED STORY:
USF navigators open for business as health insurance marketplace launches nationwide

Tampa, FL  — When the Healthcare Insurance Marketplace, a key provision of the Affordable Care Act, opened Oct. 1, USF-based navigators were prepared to help those who had made appointments.  And they continued to schedule more appointments as the day continued.

Even though the healthcare.gov website was down — federal officials reported millions of hits to the site by early afternoon– consumers received in-person assistance filling out paper applications and had many questions about their potential options answered.

USF navigator Michelle Ray (left) discusses coverage options of the health insurance marketplace with Jessica Spencer-Hammac, the first consumer to apply at the USF site. “The basic level of care is more comprehensive than anything I saw shopping outside of the marketplace,” Spencer-Hammac said.

“People want affordable health care coverage,” said Jodi Ray, project director of the Florida Covering Kids & Families program at the Chiles Center for Healthy Mothers and Babies, USF College of Public Health.

“We are scheduling people with appointments, so we can take the time with them that they need. Right now, that is working best.  People should look at the December 15 date as the deadline to apply for coverage that begins January 1, so there is still plenty of time to enroll.”

This summer, USF, along with 10 consortium partners across the state, received a $4.2-million federal grant to help individuals and families who want assistance shopping for and enrolling in private healthcare insurance available through the online marketplace. It was the largest navigator grant awarded in Florida.

Navigators, local advisors with certified training and state licenses, are available to help consumers understand their coverage options in the federal marketplace, so they can select the option that best meets their budget and needs.

They are a resource to provide outreach and unbiased education about the marketplace, and will not suggest that a consumer purchase any plan over another, Ray said.  “Navigators are ready and able to help those people who want assistance to complete the application process.”

Shoppers across the Tampa Bay area have more 100 different policies to choose from, all required to cover at least 10 essential services, including maternity care, preventive care, ambulatory care, mental health and prescription drugs.

To check out the marketplace go to:
www.healthcare.gov or 1-800-318-2596
Localhelp.healthcare.gov

To make an appointment with a navigator in Hillsborough, Pinellas or Pasco counties, contact:

The Family Healthcare Foundation:  813-995-1066

USF: Wendy Hathaway ( whathaway@health.usf.edu )
813-974-9088 office, or 813-727-9677 cell

USF: Xonjenese Jacobs ( xjacobs@health.usf.edu )
813-974-3809 office, or 813-727-8906 cell

USF Michelle Ray ( michelleray@health.usf.edu )
813-974-7735 office

Jody Ray (left), who oversees the USF navigator grant, speaks with ABC Action News health reporter Linda Hurtado on opening day of the health insurance marketplace.