“I’m so busy!” It’s one my most disliked phrases. En serio, what are we so busy doing? For me, November has been one of my busiest months for traveling this year. I have been to two social media conferences and I’m planning one more trip before Thanksgiving! Then, it’s Thanksgiving and soon the holiday shopping season begins. One thing I haven’t been too busy for is getting my family’s health insurance squared away. Yep, we are all covered for next year.
Before my husband and I were married and had kids, I didn’t worry much about health insurance. Sometimes I had it and sometimes I didn’t. Once I became responsible for my family, I knew health insurance was a priority. With my first child, having health insurance was important for routine check ups. We walked in, had a great check-up and paid the co-pay. However, with my second child, everything changed. When he was about 18-months, we learned (the hard way) that our son had severe food allergies. After he had a serious allergic reaction, he was rushed to the emergency room. That was the scariest night of my life!
Today, in addition to regular check-ups, we plan for illness visits to the doctor for both boys even though we pray we won’t need them. We now need a prescription for an inhaler and Epi-pen to have on-hand at all times. Therefore, we cannot afford to not be covered.
Are you covered? EnrollSA
Encouraging other families to get covered is why I’m partnering with EnrollSA – a coalition of healthcare professionals, a collaborative effort that includes hospitals, Bexar County, the City of San Antonio, and grassroots and community-based organizations. The goal is to increase enrollment in health coverage in Bexar County made available by the Affordable Care Act.
The deadline for re-enrollment is December 15th!
If you enrolled in the previous enrollment period, re-visit the Marketplace. There are 25% more plans from last enrollment period, which makes the pricing for these plans much more competitive. Queridos, if you do not enroll for 2015, you may have to pay a fine: $325 or 2% of your income, whichever is more.
There are more than 212,000 uninsured persons in Bexar County, almost 12 percent of the population. Increasing access to health care is a goal set by the community as part of SA2020. In 2011, only 78.3% of individuals in Bexar County had health insurance. SA2020’s goal is to enroll 86% of the total population by 2020. (Read more: http://www.sa2020.org/progress_type/health-fitness/health-insurance/) Let’s get Bexar County covered!
NEED HELP ENROLLING? Here are several upcoming enrollment events for Bexar County where there will be English and Spanish speaking enrollment counselors providing FREE assistance:
Palo Alto College Event
Saturday, Nov. 22nd
9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
After Thanksgiving Event
Friday, Nov. 29th
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Rolling Oaks Mall
Healthy for the Holidays
Saturday, Dec. 13
10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Judson High School
Don’t start the holiday shopping season without shopping for coverage. Don’t get ‘too busy’! For more information on local events or help with enrollment in Bexar County: www.EnrollSA.com Questions: Call 2-1-1 You can also stay in the conversation on social media by following EnrollSA on Facebook and Twitter.
