BPL Hosting March 25 Virtual Talk on Health Insurance Marketplace Enrollment
By Jim Murray | Central Library Business, Science, & Technology Department
What: Information Session for Health Insurance Marketplace Special Enrollment Period
When: Thursday March 25, 2021 Time: 12:00–1:00 p.m.
Details: Due to disruptions created by COVID-19, the enrollment period for the federal Health Insurance Marketplace has been extended to May 15, 2021. If you would like to learn more about how to navigate the enrollment process, please join us on Facebook Live for an informative virtual event hosted by the Birmingham Public Library. The information session presenters will be Birmingham Public Library staff members and local licensed insurance advisor, Albert McWilliams, Sr. McWilliams has been working as an insurance advisor in Birmingham since 2001. He has been a licensed Health Insurance Marketplace Advisor since 2013.
Are you in need of health insurance?
Tune into BPL’s Facebook Live Information Session on the Health Insurance Marketplace on March 25.
As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has placed an incredible strain on many people’s personal finances. Throughout Alabama and the rest of the country, businesses have closed, jobs have been lost, and family incomes have been severely diminished.
One particularly troubling aspect of this ordeal is the effect it has had on health insurance coverage. Frequently, when people lose their jobs, they lose their employer provided insurance. In turn, when people don’t have insurance, their access to quality healthcare becomes limited. If a significant portion of the population finds itself with limited access to healthcare during a pandemic, then the possibility of an even greater public health crisis developing becomes a real concern.
According to a recent survey, 29% of Americans indicated that they had lost their health insurance coverage in 2020 due to the economic upheavals generated by the pandemic. Even worse, more than half of those who did lose coverage in 2020 remain uninsured in 2021. The main reason cited by those survey respondents who have chosen to remain uninsured is the high cost of the premium payments.
Fortunately, the federal Health Insurance Marketplace is available for those seeking affordable health insurance. The marketplace, which was created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA), operates a national database, Healthcare.gov, where consumers can search for, compare, and purchase health insurance plans. Currently, 36 states, including Alabama, participate in the marketplace.
The enrollment period for the Health Insurance Marketplace usually runs from November 1 to December 15 each year, but, the extraordinary circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic spurred President Joe Biden’s administration to open a special enrollment period that began on February 15, 2021 and will remain available until May 15, 2021.
During this time, residents of Alabama can utilize the Healthcare.gov database to apply for new health insurance coverage or update their existing coverage.
Those who want to know more about how the enrollment process works during this period should tune into Facebook Live on Thursday March 25, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. for an information session hosted by the Birmingham Public Library.
Among the questions that will be discussed are:
• Who is eligible to enroll?
• How do you enroll?
• How many insurance plans are there to choose from?
• What should you consider when choosing a plan?
• Can your premium payments be subsidized by federal funds?
• How long after enrollment will coverage begin?
The information session presenters will be Birmingham Public Library staff members and local licensed insurance advisor, Albert McWilliams, Sr. Mr. McWilliams has been working as an insurance advisor in Birmingham since 2001. He has been a licensed Health Insurance Marketplace Advisor since 2013.
For more information about the Information Session on the Health Insurance Marketplace, please contact the Central Library’s Business, Science and Technology Department by email at cenbusiness@cobpl.org or by calling 205-226-3640.
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