Race to Enroll Minnesota Latinos as Obamacare Deadline Looms
Monday, March 24, 2014
ST. PAUL, Minn. - With a major deadline looming for all Minnesotans to have health-care coverage, the race is on to enroll the uninsured, with a special focus on the Latino population. According to Associate Director of the U.S. Office of Minority Health Mayra Alvarez, Hispanics are disproportionately uninsured all across the country and it's vital to close that gap.
"We know that access to health care is an important social determinant of health that contributes to health disparities for Latinos and many populations," she said. "Under the Affordable Care Act, we know that one out of every four eligible Americans for coverage is Latino. That equates to 10.2 million eligible Latinos that will have the opportunity to gain coverage."
In Minnesota, there are nearly 75,000 Latinos without health insurance, a majority of them eligible for coverage. A large majority of Latinos in the U.S. are English-dominant, and 63 percent were born in this country. The longer people reside in the U.S., the more likely they are to have health insurance, according to U.S. Census data. However, nationally the proportion of the population without insurance is around 16 percent, but among Latinos the rate is twice that, or almost one in three.
Historically, one of the biggest barriers Hispanics have faced to getting coverage is financial, but Alvarez said most of those eligible for Obamacare can get tax credits to help reduce the cost of monthly premiums.
"We estimate that the majority of folks will pay less than $100 for coverage," she said. "A hundred dollars for the security, the peace of mind that health insurance extends is a tremendous opportunity to ensure that people have the coverage that they need and have it at a price they can afford."
With just days to get an application in during this first open-enrollment period, Alvarez advised those who need insurance through the marketplace that there are a number of options.
"They can do it in person in their community with someone they trust. They can do it online at HealthCare.gov. They can do it via phone at 1-800-318-2596. They can even do it during a paper application. Please don't pass this opportunity up."
In Minnesota, the online marketplace is at MNsure.gov. At last count, nearly 125,000 people in the state had signed up for coverage.
The deadline to enroll in a marketplace plan for this year is one week from today, March 31. Those who do not have health coverage could face possible penalties.
Individuals may be exempted from the requirement to buy insurance if they file a form and qualify (for example, if their previous plan was terminated and no affordable alternative plan is available). If they think insurance is unaffordable based on their projected income, they may be allowed to buy a policy for catastrophic coverage only. Information about exemptions is available at www.healthcare.gov/exemptions/.
Enrollment is available by calling 800-318-2596 or visiting www.HealthCare.gov (English) or www.CuidadoDeSalud.gov (Spanish).
This story was produced with data and editorial assistance from NewsTaco, www.newstaco.com/.
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