Daytona event helps people get health insurance before deadline

DAYTONA BEACH - About 200 people flocked to Halifax Health Medical Center on Sunday to get help enrolling in health insurance plans - four years to the day since President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law.

Dozens of volunteers were on hand at the hospital to help people through the process of getting signed up before the law's March 31 deadline. The hospital, in partnership with the city of Daytona Beach, held an enrollment event Sunday to help those who needed a hand getting through the process of learning about their options under the law, like Tricia Degan of Oak Hill.

'At home, it kept kicking me off the (Healthcare.gov) website. I kept going back on and I had to re-enter all my information two or three times,' she said. 'Here, nothing. (A volunteer) answered all my questions, helped me with the application process, it was great.'

Shawna Beall of Lake Helen learned she'd be saving $500 a month on her health insurance by enrolling through the marketplace - good news for her as she said she'd been paying a third of her retirement income towards insurance previously.

Former County Council Chairman Phil Giorno, who currently serves as president of the Democratic Veterans' Caucus of Florida, was volunteering Sunday.

'I'm covered under the VA, so I don't need health coverage, but I want other people to have health coverage,' he said. 'I think it's a basic right.'

A broad coalition of volunteers and nonprofit groups, ranging from the Health Planning Council of Northeast Florida to Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry and members of several area churches, helped organize the event and get people to the hospital.

'Our goal is to help those people who don't understand what the health insurance marketplace is,' said Melissa Chester, one of the event's coordinators. 'We're navigating them, literally - we're taking them through each step and helping them find out if and what they're eligible for.'

'It's clear there was a need for it, because we had people waiting here early this morning,' said John Guthrie, director of communications for the Halifax Health. 'We're pretty much at capacity right now, so we're really pleased.'

Some people who weren't eligible for coverage through the marketplace were directed to the hospital's patient assistance program instead, he said.

'You can go to IRS.gov and do your own taxes, but there's a lot of H&R Blocks and Jackson Hewitts around,' said Mincy Pollock, an event organizer and co-owner of the Jacksonville-based First Coast Multi-Lines Agency, an insurance brokerage.

'The point is, if you can meet with somebody that really understands the plans and the process, you can usually get all that's due to you and relieve frustration,' he said. 'The residents here need help.'

As of March 1, 442,087 Floridians have selected a plan in the marketplace, according to the latest enrollment numbers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.