The open enrollment period for the federal health insurance marketplace ends Sunday, Feb. 15. Local and national groups are ramping up efforts to get people signed up and re-enrolled before the deadline.
Department of Health and Human Services Regional Director Melissa Stafford Jones said the agency is targeting the procrastinators.
“We know there are still people out there who don’t have coverage and we know that human nature is to wait until last minute," she said. "We all do that on lots of things in our lives. This is last minute.”
One of the local outreach efforts is at Phoenix College. The Arizona Public Interest Research Group Education Fund is one of the advocacy organizations on the ground encouraging students to sign up.
Campaign Organizer Jason Donofrio explained the challenge when it comes to young people isn’t why it's important to sign up, but how to do it.
“It’s like enrolling for classes,” he said. “You meet with a professor for an hour, it's free, you learn your options and you register. Health insurance is pretty much the same.”
Donofrio said this in-person help is important for students who may be signing up for the first time.
A 20-year-old Phoenix College student Hayat Aslamuddin is looking to get his own health insurance plan.
He said it’s time to get covered because he’s concerned about his health.
“My blood pressure is usually high," he said. "I just checked it [and] it was still high, so I need to see a doctor.”
He needs help paying for doctors’ visits and medicine. The penalty for not having health insurance this year increases to two percent of your income or $325 per adult.
