Dearborn, Mich. – For the start of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) open enrollment period, ACCESS has certified close to 50 navigators, many of whom are bilingual and will be stationed across the tri-county area to assist the public in navigating the new Health Insurance Marketplace.
ACCESS, a federally certified marketplace navigator, is partnering with Enroll America, a nonprofit focused on maximizing the number of Americans with health care and educating the community on the ACA in time for the start of open enrollment on Nov. 15.
ACCESS’ navigators will begin enrolling consumers on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at ACCESS’ Community Health & Research Center, 6450 Maple St. in Dearborn, and ACCESS’ Community Health & Research Center of Macomb County, 4301 East 14 Mile Road in Sterling Heights. Navigators will also be at satellite locations across Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties in local health departments and hospital systems, including:
Macomb County Health Department – Mt. Clemens, Warren and St. Clair Shores
Beaumont Hospital – Troy, Grosse Pointe and Macomb Township
St. John Providence Hospital – Southfield and Macomb and Oakland counties
“Last year, we were part of close to 114 events and we plan to outdo that this year. Our goal is to assist at least 12,000 clients with enrollment,” said Madiha Tariq, public health manager with ACCESS’ Community Health and Research Center. “The best news is that, during this open enrollment period, any clients that do come to us and are determined eligible can be enrolled into the Healthy Michigan Plan (HMP) on the spot, because that interface is also open.”
During last year’s enrollment period, ACCESS served more than 8,300 clients in southeast Michigan in eight languages, including English, Arabic, Bengali and Spanish. Most of these services were provided through one-on-one fair, accurate and impartial counseling and education about health insurance options from ACCESS navigators. Services were also provided through a designated toll free number and via the ACCESS enrollment website, (www.accesshealthcaremichigan.org).
This year’s enrollment process includes a new streamlined application – now 16 pages, down from a previous 76 – and the addition of four new health care providers. A total of 18 health insurance providers are now in the Michigan marketplace. Another improvement, Tariq said, is that those who are reenrolling will not have to start their application from scratch. Applicants with their login usernames and passwords can start their applications under the same account and the data will repopulate into their redetermination application.
A recent study, commissioned by Enroll America, found that face-to-face enrollment assistance is critically important to enrollment success for many consumers. The number one barrier to enrollment continues to be the lack of knowledge about available financial help. Also, consumers who received in-person enrollment help were more than twice as likely to have successfully enrolled as those who did not get any help.
“We are truly excited to assist, once again, the numerous communities that we serve in seeking out various health care options that were not available to them in the past,” said ACCESS Executive Director Hassan Jaber. “Our agency works, day in and day out, to connect people with services that allow them to become self sufficient. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to continue to assist, improve and empower the people that we serve.”
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About ACCESS
Grounded in the Arab American tradition of hospitality, ACCESS has a 43-year history of providing health, education, employment and social services in greater Detroit to empower people to lead healthy, informed, productive lives. Today, ACCESS extends that mission to a national platform through advocacy, arts, culture and philanthropy. Visit us online at www.accesscommunity.org.
