WASHINGTON /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act closes February 15th. That date is coming fast. To help increase awareness about the importance of having health care coverage, Fredette West, the head of the African American Health Alliance (AAHA) and Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition (REHDC) spoke by phone with former U.S. Surgeon Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders to discuss the significance of getting covered and staying covered. AAHA/REHDC has also issued Public Service Announcements (PSA) to help increase awareness.
During the candid and informative conversation, Surgeon General Elders and West covered a number of concerns that people may have including signing up, staying covered, paying for coverage, preventive services and more.
Surgeons General serve as “the nation’s doctor” providing the best scientific information available for improving public health and reducing the risk of illness and injury. Dr. Elders is the nation’s 15th Surgeon General; she served during the Clinton Administration. Since then, she has continued to be a vocal and steadfast leader in public health and a strong supporter of preventive health care. The get covered stay covered conversation reinforces the importance of having ongoing access to quality affordable primary preventive health care. Dr. Elders’ overriding message is “I want everybody to know that everyone needs health insurance coverage. Nothing is more important than your health.”
Dr. Elders credits and applauds the health care law saying, “In fact, during the last open enrollment, millions of people who never before had health care coverage signed up and got the coverage they needed. In the past, most people who had to go without health insurance did so primarily because it was too expensive and/or they were denied coverage because of pre-existing health conditions. The Affordable Care Act law fixed that, making financial assistance available for those who qualify. In addition, people with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied …. Thanks to the ACA law, there is no reason for people to put their health at risk by going without the health care coverage they need.”
According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ latest nationwide enrollment report (through the second month of 2015 Open Enrollment), 9.5 million consumers selected or were automatically reenrolled in quality, affordable health insurance coverage from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Of those, more than 7.1 million were in states using the HealthCare.gov platform and 2.4 million were in the 14 states (including Washington, DC) using their own Marketplace platforms.
Given her emphasis on prevention, Dr. Elders says it is critical to have coverage that includes real access to prevention services. She stresses the importance of screenings, early detection and treatment. Colonoscopy, mammograms, lung cancer screening, Hemoglobin A1c for diabetes, HIV/AIDS testing and the many others are all very important.  She says “No one knows when illness will strike or when an accident will happen.” No one is too young for coverage. “Sign up now ….Don’t let time run out…..Get covered and stay covered.” To see the list of preventive services included in Marketplace plans at no cost to the consumer, visithttps://www.healthcare.gov/preventive-care-benefits/ or just go to https://www.healthcare.gov/ and type in the word “preventive” in the search box.
Remember, the enrollment deadline is February 15, 2015. There are four ways to apply: by mail, in person, by phone or online. Go to https://www.healthcare.gov/ or call the Health Insurance Marketplace at 1-800-318-2596. Financial help is available to those who qualify. Help with signing up is available in 150 languages. To find in-person assistance in your local community, go tohttps://localhelp.healthcare.gov/. Additional enrollment information is available via video including What is the Health Insurance Marketplace? at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZmK0wHOBn8  and Five Steps to Staying Covered – Application Walkthrough at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRW5q_J3lss.
The African American Health Alliance is a nonprofit organization. Both AAHA and REHDC are committed to helping eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in an effort to improve overall quality of life for all. Access to quality affordable care that is culturally and linguistically appropriate is critical to that goal.
AAHA is co-chaired by Dr. Joycelyn Elders and Dr. Lucille Perez.  AAHA’s Fredette West says “The get covered, stay covered advice provided by Dr. Elders is a wake-up call to all.” West, a breast cancer survivor, continues to urge people to sign up for coverage, reenroll in coverage each year, spread the word, encourage and help others to sign up by theFebruary 15th deadline. She also reminds those who need financial help that assistance is available to those who qualify.
For information on the Health Alliance, go to www.africanamericanhealthalliance.org.
The full conversation, PSAs, and the transcriptions are available at: www.africanamericanhealthalliance.org.
 and Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Coalition (REHDC) spoke by phone with former U.S. Surgeon Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders to discuss the significance of getting covered and staying covered.){kind=link}