2015/05/14 – WASHINGTON – Federal health officials turned to places such as Jackson and Belzoni when they sought ideas for educating people on how to take advantage of the health insurance they had just signed up for under the Affordable Care Act.

Officials tapped community groups, providers, faith leaders and consumers in 2013 to help develop a 44-page consumer guide and other material for the newly insured. They’re relying on those groups again to get that information to Mississippians.

Mississippi was among four states that served as pilot sites for the “From Coverage to Care” initiative created by the Office of Minority Health at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The others were Arizona, California and Michigan.

Even after they enrolled, some people were anxious and confused about what came next, said Marian Talley, an associate pastor at the Farish Street Baptist Church in Jackson and head of the church health ministry.

“We had to assure them that now they actually had insurance,” Talley said.

Cara James, director of the Office of Minority Health at CMS, said that for many new enrollees, understanding basic health insurance terms — such as “deductible” and “copayment” — is challenging.

“A lot of consumers really don’t understand how our health care system and insurance system works,” she said.

Faith leaders and others in Mississippi are gearing up to distribute more material next month to people attending vacation Bible schools and other summer programs, said Michael O. Minor, pastor of the Oak Hill Baptist Church in Hernando. “It’s our little second wave we do once open enrollment is over,” said Minor, who also is national director for the H.O.P.E. Health and Human Services Partnership of the National Baptist Convention.

Open enrollment ended Feb. 15.

By March 23, 104,538 Mississippians had signed up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

“We get a lot of people, who under the ACA never had health coverage before, so it’s a great little tool to assist us to assist them,” Minor said of the CMS brochure and material.

CMS collected information for the “From Coverage to Care” initiative between January and April 2013. In addition to the brochure unveiled in Mississippi early last year, the agency offers information online and through local partners, including faith-based groups.

“Anywhere we can get the information out is a valuable partner for us,” James said.

Source: The Clarion-Ledger 

Deborah Barfield Berry