ACA outreach effort trying to get word to Hispanic community in Monroe County

Jan. 26--Affordable Care Act navigators in Monroe County can explain in two words why Hispanics account for the largest uninsured racial and ethnic population in the United States: misunderstanding and mistrust.

"There's a language barrier, so we would literally have to change everything to Spanish to reach them," said Araceli Gomez, Latino outreach coordinator for the community and family resources department for the city. "The mistrust, I think, comes from there's lot of mixed-status families here in Bloomington. Maybe one of the parents is here legally and the other isn't, or the children are citizens, but their parents aren't."

With the looming Feb. 15 deadline to enroll for health insurance, Monroe County health care navigators are focusing on outreach to the Hispanic community and those who don't speak English as a first language. Navigators are licensed by the Indiana Department of Insurance and certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to offer unbiased assistance in signing up for insurance through the online Affordable Care Act Marketplace.

"Even if you're not sure if you qualify, if you're not sure if your children qualify, you really just need to talk to someone and ask," Gomez said. "The first and biggest step is to just ask. With the deadline approaching, I'm kind of worried about what's going to happen."

The Affordable Care Act requires minimum essential coverage either through the Marketplace or private insurance for United States citizens living inside the U.S. As of Jan. 16, a total of 185,730 Hoosiers were enrolled in the Federally Facilitated Marketplace, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Of the 137,974 residents in Monroe County, 4,029 identified as Hispanic or Latino, according to 2010 Census data. Pew Research statistics show that one in four Hispanic individuals is uninsured, though there is no specific data on uninsured rates by ethnicity or race within the city or county.

"There's just a real lack of knowledge," said Donyel Byrd, outreach coordinator for Cover Monroe and the ACA Volunteers of Monroe County. "There's also mistrust of the government. Some people are really unsure about what that will mean for their family if they sign up ... You get into concerns about mixed-status families, undocumented folks and the fear that they will be reported."

Though specific statistics on the number of individuals who live and work in Bloomington and Monroe County without legal permission are not available, unauthorized immigrants comprise 1.3 percent of Indiana's population.

"It's an important thing for them to understand and hear -- none of info collected by the ACA marketplace can be used to deport them," Byrd said. "They don't need to fear the government or being reported."

Cover Monroe offers appointments with navigators on Fridays at 2 p.m. at the Bloomington and Ellettsville branches of the Monroe County Public Library. The average person needs to hear about the basics of the Affordable Care Act from a trusted source seven times before they see it as a legitimate law, according to Byrd.

"Coming from some outsider they don't know is not going to be most reassuring source of information," Byrd said. "They really need to hear this from their clergy, their schools or people they interface with for their children, from health providers."

Despite the fact that volunteer navigators are not affiliated with insurance companies and therefore only make recommendations based on individual health care needs, trusted information in the Hispanic community spreads through word of mouth, not government sources, according to Gomez.

"They're not open to information like that," Gomez said. "Hearing it from someone that you trust is most important. I'm worried about what will happen when they go file taxes."

Those who can afford health insurance and do not buy it, or do not sign up for a plan through the ACA Marketplace or another government program such as Medicaid, are subject to a fee of 2 percent of yearly income for an individual or $325 per person for the year for families. The penalty is paid when federal income taxes are filed. Workers living in the U.S. without legal permission need an Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) for tax filing purposes.

The average penalty for an Indiana family is $500 or more, according to Cover Monroe, a volunteer-based organization of navigators.

"We just want to let them know they do have options," said Harlene Haro health programs coordinator for El Centro Comunal Latino, a resource center for Bloomington's Hispanic and Spanish-speaking population. "If they don't have documentation, or they lost their healthcare in the past we want to get information to them on how to get it back, or if they have different options."

The deadline to enroll in health insurance to comply with the Affordable Care Act is Feb. 15.

Free Help -- Free Parking series for health coverage enrollment

Sunday, Feb. 8 from 1-5 p.m. at the Bloomington branch of the Monroe County Public Library

These are drop-in events and no appointment is required.

Cover Monroe offers appointments with navigators on Fridays at 2 p.m. at the Bloomington and Ellettsville branches of the Monroe County Public Library. Call 812-269-2991 or visit www.acavmc.org to make an appointment.

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