KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Federal Health And Human Services Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, arrived in Kansas City Monday to encourage an estimated 250,000 uninsured people in the metro area to sign up for health insurance.
During the next eight weeks there will be a full-court press to enroll those who don’t have health coverage.
This is the official launch of Cover KC, a campaign by the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City to reach out to all those who lack health insurance and help them enroll in the benefits of the federal Affordable Care Act.
The Full Employment Council is one of the places where there will be a trained navigator to help job seekers get health coverage. In the last month, ambulances have been called to the FEC at least three times for job seekers who suffered from seizures or needed medication. CEO Clyde McQueen says the unemployed can’t afford their medications, and they often look for work while they’re sick. He believes the Affordable Care Act will better qualify the unemployed for jobs they seek.
“There are thousands of individuals in both Kansas and Missouri who have signed up already,” Sebelius said. “In both states I would also say there are challenges that people still need information. They don’t know where to go they don’t have confidence.”
The health care foundation is mailing flyers to 250,000 households over the next eight weeks. Volunteers will knock on 70,000 doors and make 270,000 phone calls, all in an effort to get uninsured individuals enrolled in Obamacare.
The secretary claims if you haven’t been on the healthcare.gov website recently to try it again. She claims thousands are enrolling now every day in a process that’s working much more smoothly.
Sebelius also encouraged both Missouri and Kansas to expand their Medicaid rolls under the Affordable Care Act. She says since January 1, Missouri has missed out on $5 million a day in federal aid to pay for the expansion. Kansas is giving up $1.5 million a day in federal money.
