Health insurance forum set for Dec. 5

Nov. 30--McLEANSBORO -- Those wanting to learn more about enrolling for health insurance are invited to a special educational forum Dec. 5 at the Hamilton County Health Department.

The forum, set for 10 a.m. to noon, is being hosted by the Illinois Department of Insurance and Get Covered Illinois. Staffers at the event will provide information and answer questions on the Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment Period which ends Dec. 15.

"We want to educate the public as much as we can so they can get the best coverage for them," said Michael Batkins, director of outreach for Get Covered Illinois. "Also, they're still required by law to (enroll). ... The individual mandate is still in place."

The McLeansboro forum is part of a 102-county tour of the state designed to help consumers sign up for health insurance through GetCovered.Illinois.gov or at healthcare.gov. All are welcome to attend the forum.

Batkins said it's very important for people to shop around for their plans and not passively re-enroll. There are a lot of changes this year to the marketplace, chief among them being that consumers only have a six-week enrollment period instead of 12 weeks, Batkins said.

"We're stressing -- don't wait, don't passively re-enroll, definitely shop around," Batkins said. "There are so many changes, it might be beneficial to select a different plan."

The educational forum has a casual format where residents can come in and ask questions of the outreach team, Batkins said.

Team members are not trained to actually sign people up for health insurance but can answer any questions about how to negotiate the Get Covered Illinois site and compare plans, Batkins said.

"Just trying to simplify it, to cut through the confusion," Batkins said.

For help in signing up for health insurance, call (866) 311-1119.

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