Spotlight: Open enrollment
|
Open enrollment for Medicare runs through December 7, 2021. The Marketplace Open Enrollment Period runs through January 15, 2022. However, December 15, 2021, is the last day to sign up for Marketplace health care coverage with an effective date of January 1, 2022.
Enrollment assisters play important roles in efforts to help uninsured people obtain affordable health care coverage. That’s why CMS has awarded $80 million to organizations in 30 states (PDF, 488 KB, 63 pp) for the training and certification of 1,500 health care navigators.
We are happy to report that Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board (GPTCHB) was one of the awardees. GPTCHB will target enrollment of American Indians and Alaska Natives, in partnership with tribal governments, Indian Health Service, and the South Dakota Medicaid agency.
|
|
Open enrollment is an opportunity for eligible consumers to review their health care coverage options and sign up for a plan that best meets their needs.
|
|
Additionally, national and local organizations serving tribal populations and other underinsured communities are invited to join CMS’s Champions for Coverage program. Participating organizations receive educational resources and “event-in-a-box” materials for outreach and education about the Marketplace and how consumers can enroll in coverage through HealthCare.gov, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
We urge anyone who works in outreach and education to consult the list of theme weeks for this year’s Marketplace open enrollment period (PDF, 85 KB, 2 pp), keeping in mind that December 12–18 is American Indian/Alaska Native/Tribal Week of Action. The CMS Office of Communications, in collaboration with the CMS Division of Tribal Affairs, will provide more information about tribal-specific outreach and enrollment activities for that week. In the meantime, please start thinking about outreach activities to help enroll tribal members in the Marketplace, Medicaid, and CHIP.
Finally, enrollment assisters and outreach workers are encouraged to check out the resources that the CMS Division of Tribal Affairs offers online. Those resources include:
-
Stay Healthy with Medicare (PDF, 414 KB, 2 pp), which lists the preventive services covered by Medicare
-
CHIP, Medicaid, Medicare, and the Marketplace at a Glance (PDF, 999 KB, 2 pp), an overview of health care coverage options and benefits specific to American Indians and Alaska Natives
-
Information for American Indians and Alaska Natives Applying for Coverage (PDF, 136 KB, 4 pp), which reviews the protections available to Native people in the Marketplace, Medicaid, and CHIP
|
|
