Unless the New York State government announces an extension in the coming days, the 31 of this month will end the open enrollment period for health insurance under the ACA, the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.
Since March 2010, when then President Barack Obama signed the ACA, our Hispanic Federation has collaborated with individuals and families who want coverage, providing them with information and practical help with enrollment.
“For understand the importance of ACA for our community,” says Liliana Melgar Hoyos, Associate Vice President of Health Operations for the Hispanic Federation. “We must consider that that year (2010) our health insurance rates were the lowest of all sectors of the population. Nine years later, more than four million Latinos and Latinas had health insurance.”
During this open enrollment period, which began last November, we at the federation helped with paperwork for four plans: Medicaid, Child Health Plus, the Essential Plan, and qualified plans.
“It should be noted”, explains Liliana Melgar Hoyos, “that during 2022 many New Yorkers will find it easier to pay for their health insurance thanks to the tax credits they will receive for the American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, by American Rescue Plan Act, from the administration of the President Joe Biden. This form of financial assistance will reduce the costs of the insured who qualify, including, and for the first time, some with higher incomes”.
In 2010, ARPA tax credits were one reason for the dramatic increase in the number of New Yorkers insured under ACA plans, which now stands at 6.3 million, or one in three state residents. The New York government estimates that thanks to ARPA, monthly savings per person on health insurance average 430 dollars.
Those interested in receiving more information or enrolling in an ACA health plan can call our Toll Free Line Help with Health Insurance, at 1-656-656-9832.
But don’t waste any more time. If you do not get an immediate response, please leave your names and phone numbers in Spanish or English, and our staff will contact you as soon as possible.
To carry out the registration process in this new period, people should have on hand proof of address and income, and identity documents for themselves or family members.
And to find out more about the Hispanic Federation, call our bilingual line at 1-866-HF-HELP, or 1-833-432-9832.
You can also visit http://www. hispanicfederation.org, or find us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Let’s celebrate together the 31th anniversary of the Hispanic Federation, and until the next column!
Frankie Miranda is the president of the Hispanic Federation