FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com OCTOBER 6, 2016 • HEALTH • The queens CourieR 17 ▶health Millennials: Now’s the time to find affordable health care Six years after the Affordable Care act was passed, millions of young adults remain uninsured, and the federal government is expanding its efforts to provide them with affordable health insurance coverage. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a number of new strategies, tools and partnerships aimed at reaching out to millennials and informing them of their health care options. “More than nine in 10 Marketplace-eligible young adults without health insurance have incomes that could qualify them for tax credits to make plans affordable, but that fact hasn’t fully penetrated the millennial community, and we want to change that,” said Kevin Counihan, HealthCare.gov CEO. “This year, we’ll be using new tactics and strategies to reach young adults where they are and deliver the message that they have affordable coverage options. These new tactics will both benefit young Americans and strengthen the Marketplace risk pool.” For the first time, Open Enrollment outreach will take advantage of online platforms that cater almost exclusively to young adults. Today, we are announcing the first of these new efforts: outreach utilizing Twitch, a social video platform and community for gamers. This effort will feature HealthCare.gov pre-roll before videos, a homepage takeover, and ongoing efforts with streamers on Twitch to amplify our message throughout Open Enrollment. According to ComScore, one in five millennials access the internet exclusively through mobile devices. Last year, consumers could easily enroll in coverage at HealthCare.gov through mobile devices, but if they wanted to actually shop around and compare plans, the mobile interface could be difficult and time consuming. This year, consumers will find an end-to-end, mobile optimized experience, including a new state-of-the-art shopping process that for the first time offers improved ability to comparison shop on their phone or tablet. Rather than clicking on tiny boxes or zooming in on hard-to-read screens, consumers will now find intuitive navigation and a streamlined interface to compare plans. During 2017 Open Enrollment, CMS and stakeholders will organize a young adult social media outreach campaign under one umbrella: #HealthyAdulting. As part of this coordinated campaign, longstanding Open Enrollment partners will be stepping up their social media engagement and will coordinate with each other to maximize the impact of that social media work in driving enrollment. CMS will be joining with partners to communicate with young people on the digital platforms they prefer — including Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr — and engaging in a conversation under a unified #HealthyAdulting message about issues young people care about, whether that’s mental health, women’s wellness, reproductive health or diabetes prevention. In addition, as previously announced, the Internal Revenue Service will conduct new outreach this year to uninsured people who paid the individual responsibility penalty or claimed an exemption, letting them know that tax credits are available for Marketplace coverage and providing information about their health coverage options. Young adults are overrepresented among those who paid the fee: about 45 percent of taxpayers paying a penalty or claiming an exemption were under age 35, compared to about 30 percent of all taxpayers in 2014. Experts have suggested reaching out to those who paid the fee or claimed an exemption to make sure they are aware of their options to enroll in coverage, an approach already implemented in Massachusetts. Americans can sign up for affordable health plans that meet their needs and their budgets at HealthCare. gov or their state Marketplace websites beginning Nov. 1. Open Enrollment runs through Jan. 31, 2017. Health coverage can start as soon as Jan. 1, 2017 for consumers who sign up by Dec. 15, 2016.
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