Allan Appel Photo
Baby Steven Cousin, III asleep with his own and his parents’ new insurance cards.
13,174. 9,909. 4,958.
Those are the estimated number of uninsured in Dixwell/Newhallville, Fair Haven, and the Hill.
As the March 31 deadline approaches for uninsured people to signup for the Affordable Care Act (aka “Obamacare”) or risk paying a fine, officials invoked those numbers at a press conference convened by the city and Access Health CT at the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center. The officials launched the New Haven edition of a campaign called “Because I Got Covered”.
“The Big Point: Enrollment ends March 31. We’ve got to get the word out,” said Mayor Harp.
Its aim: to target and reach the remaining greatest concentrations of uninsured.
Officials presented success stories like that of the Cousin Family. Before Steven Cousin, his son, and wife signed up for insurance via the Affordable Care Act, baby Steven Jr. and his dad were paying Aetna $800 a month just for the two of them.
His mom, with a preexisting condition, was not permitted on the policy.
Pastor Steven, Dr. Christina, and baby Steven III Cousin.
Now all three are with Anthem under Obacamare. The cost: $314 per month.
The new effort dovetails with others in town. Click here for a story on recent canvassing for those hard-to-reach folks by members of the Board of Alders. Click here for a story on Access Health CT’s success thus far in signing up about 131,000 people, ahead of the projected goal.
“We’re saturating the market” to reach those approximately 26,000 people in the three zip codes of Dixwell and Newhallville (06511), Fair Haven (06513), and the Hill (06519), where most of the remaining uninsured reside, said Paul Kowalski (pictured), acting director of the city Health Department.
In addition to robocalls and advertising, the campaign includes nine “fairs” around the city scheduled between now and March 31.
The next two events where you can sign up on the spot are both on Thursday, at St. Luke’s Church, 111 Whalley Ave., from 3 p.m.to 7 p.m.; and at the Fair Haven Public Library at 182 Grand Ave., from noon to 6 p.m.
For a full list, go to the Access Health CT site, or call 1 – 855-805‑4325.
To give a sense of the scope of the challenge: In the past two years, the Hill Health Center has treated about 9,000 uninsured people, said Rob Rioux, chief of strategic development. In January and February the center signed up about 500 of those for Obamacare, with trained “assisters” on the premises.
“With this population, they may be transient or homeless,” or without an address, said Rioux.
He said the staff is working hard to reach and to sign up the balance of 8500.
The deadline is only for those who may be eligible for enrollment via Access Health CT in the qualified private plans. “Afterwards, Medicaid [enrollment] is continuous,” added Hill Health CEO Michael Taylor.