December was intense... this is the 'take-away' from our Health Access Network meetings in Amherst and Boston this month. Across the board, people providing enrollment assistance in hospitals, community health centers and community organizations were faced with a huge number of people trying to get health insurance coverage before the Dec. 31 deadline. John Bergeron from Hilltowns Community Health Center got the prize for the latest request for assistance; he received several phone messages on the evening of December 31 from people looking to comply with the mandate. One interesting and new development: most outreach workers reported that people came with needed documentation to enroll right away - pay stubs, proof of citizenship and identity -- people were exceptionally prepared.
In both meetings we were joined by the insightful and expert Nancy Turnbull, who shared insights about 2007 and 2008. With her head in policy circles and her feet on the ground, fully appreciating the work it takes to get people enrolled, she shared a personal story about trying to complete an MBR for someone in her family of friends. Turns out, even for a Connector Board member with a Ph.D. and professorship at Harvard, it's not easy - Nancy needed one tidbit that she got from an outreach worker from Greenfield. Collaboration at its finest!
Looking forward to 2008, Nancy told us she expected continued intensity in the work of outreach. There was general agreement that through April 15 the rush for enrollment assistance will continue. While not expected to be tax experts, it seems that anyone helping with enrollment will need to know enough to help people complete the new Form HC or at least guide them to helpful resources. Kudos to Department of Revenue for its new online tutorials - for those residents with broadband, these videos on Form HC offer a good resource for outreach workers to refer their clients.
Please visit our website for full meeting notes and more information about our HAN meetings. Our next meetings will be February 1 in Amherst and March 27 in Boston. All are welcome.
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