January 13 – Have you signed up for health insurance through the West Virginia Navigator program yet?
If you haven’t done so yet, you have until Wednesday, January 15, Jeremy Smith said.
Smith is director of the aforementioned program, a grant-funded initiative that provides free Marketplace enrollment assistance to those who are uninsured.
Right now, that’s as many as 100,000 West Virginians, give or take, who, as Smith said, are essentially seeking mischief on a daily basis.
The emergency portion consists of all the zeros associated with numbers on hospital bills, he said.
And a sudden illness or accident, the director said, could put every budget in intensive care, and every household could go it alone.
Last week, more than 200 West Virginians across the state braved the cold, snow and ice to sign up for Medicare and other plans as part of “Cover WV Day,” hosted annually by the Navigator Program.
Wednesday, as Smith said, is the closing date for signing up for coverage this year.
“That’s why we have to go out and see us,” he said. “We can help.”
Not that you have to physically go anywhere, the director added. A call to the WV Navigator program 304-356-5834 can get you started.
Be sure to have a list of your prescription medications on hand to make sure they are covered, he said, along with Social Security numbers and dates of birth for anyone else in your home who you plan to enroll.
Smith said he knows the cost of insurance can be an issue throughout the Mountain State, where more households than not are financially strapped.
However, he said the Marketplace plans are based on projected income — and 97% of West Virginians qualify for financial assistance.
About four out of five West Virginians who want to sign up, the director said, can do so with a subscription of $10 a month or less.
But cost is a concern, and so is cause and effect in Washington, D.C., he said.
His office has been speaking lately with people wondering about the next Trump administration, and how that administration might tackle Medicare and the Affordable Care Act in the weeks, months and years ahead.
Smit’s advice? Don’t miss an opportunity, he said.
“We’re telling everyone to sign up and hang in there,” he said.
