On March 29, the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital and Eskenazi Health campus will host one last-chance opportunity for eligible Central Indiana residents to access new health insurance options through the state’s federally facilitated marketplace. Marketplace open enrollment for 2014 will end two days later on March 31.
For the second time this month, Eskenazi Health will host Enroll Indianapolis Day at Eskenazi Health, which will allow the public to learn about options offered through the Affordable Care Act and to sign up on-site for one of the marketplace insurance plans. The event will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital, 720 Eskenazi Ave. Free parking will be available in the Eskenazi Health Parking Garage.
“With the tremendous response we had with our first Enroll Indianapolis Day at Eskenazi Health earlier this month, we decided to provide one last chance to allow the public to access health insurance through the new Health Insurance Marketplace,” said Parveen Chand, MHA, FACHE , chief operating officer at Eskenazi Health. “The event also offers a second opportunity for our navigators to assist hundreds of people all in one day and at one location to be part of the new health insurance marketplace.”
Eskenazi Health has added a staff of navigators to implement the program, and a toll-free phone number – 1.855.202.1053 – has been used to connect residents with staff who can answer questions and provide assistance in using the online marketplace. Thousands of Hoosiers have already been assisted by navigators at Eskenazi Health.
Nearly 1,000 people took the opportunity on March 15 at the first Enroll Indianapolis Day at Eskenazi Health to access services through the marketplace.
“The tremendous response we had from the public at our March 15 event has prompted us to host a second Enroll Indianapolis Day at Eskenazi Health event,” said Gordon Jaye, director of Eskenazi Health Patient Access Services and Financial Eligibility Services. “After this event our navigators will continue to assist the public with questions all the way to the March 31 deadline.”
Over 70 navigators are expected to be available for consumers to work with at the March 29 Enroll Indianapolis Day at Eskenazi Health. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is once again assisting with the event.
In October 2013, Eskenazi Health and Eskenazi Health Center launched a public education and awareness campaign to direct the public to call for information and coverage. Eskenazi Health received a $590,985 grant to assist with the implementation costs of the navigator program.
The new Health Insurance Marketplace is designed to provide uninsured Hoosiers with access to new plans being made available. Eskenazi Health is participating in the MDwise and Anthem plans. Eskenazi Health navigators assist consumers with all plan options that may be available regardless of whether Eskenazi Health is a participant.
More information about the marketplace is available at healthcare.gov. In addition, information about Enroll Indianapolis Day at Eskenazi Health may be obtained by calling Indiana 211 at 211 or Eskenazi Health at 1.855.202.1053.
