The Health Department today announced the launch of a new texting campaign to make it easier for New Yorkers to sign up for health insurance during the Affordable Care Act open enrollment period. New Yorkers can text “CoveredNYC” to 877877 to get connected with someone who can help them enroll for health insurance in person. To receive help in Spanish, New Yorkers can text “SeguroNYC” to 877877. The Health Department launched a texting campaign to reach uninsured New York City residents, particularly those in our most underserved communities. The open enrollment period began on Saturday, November 15 and will end on February 15, 2015.

“Health insurance is a right, not a privilege, and we are committed to making sure New Yorkers are aware of the plans available to them,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. “Getting help to enroll in health insurance is now just a text message away. I encourage all New Yorkers who haven’t done so already to sign up for health insurance before the enrollment period ends.”

“Providing easy points of access to assistance for enrolling in health insurance is critical to ensuring that underserved populations take advantage of the open enrollment period running through February 15,” Council Member Corey Johnson, Chair of the Council’s Committee on Health. “I am glad that DOHMH is using every tool in their arsenal to reach the uninsured and I encourage all of those looking to enroll to take advantage of this campaign and text “GetCoveredNY” to 877877 to find a local in-person assistor.”

The Affordable Care Act makes health insurance attainable for those who previously could not afford coverage or do not have coverage available through their employer. Nearly 900,000 New York City residents have already enrolled in free and low-cost health insurance plans through the New York State of Health Marketplace.

The Health Department has previously launched successful texting campaigns to help people find nearby places to receive a vaccine or find out when their favorite beach is closed. According to Mobile Commons, 30 percent of the United States population does not have regular access to the Internet and email. Non-English speakers, people with disabilities, and those living near the poverty line often do not have reliable Internet access. Text messaging campaigns can effectively reach these populations.

More than 92 percent of mobile phone users in the United States actively use text messaging on a regular basis. Text messaging is also more common among underserved populations. Non-Hispanic blacks and Hispanics, for example, both use text messaging at a rate three to five times greater than the general population. According to the Health Department’s 2013 Community Health Survey, prior to Affordable Care Act implementation, non-Hispanic blacks made up 24 percent of the uninsured population in New York City and Hispanics made up 44 percent of the uninsured population. Although progress was made during the last open enrollment period with 102,534 non-Hispanic black residents enrolled (21 percent of all enrollees) and 138,979 of Hispanic residents enrolled (28 percent of all enrollees), there is still more work to be done to help enroll uninsured New Yorkers within these underserved populations. This new texting campaign was created to help reach these residents.

For those who need help enrolling, the Health Department offers in-person assistance through Certified Application Counselors. People who do not have health insurance can call 311 or text “CoveredNYC” or “SeguroNYC” to 877877 to find these and other in-person assistors located throughout the city. Through the texting campaign, residents can find assistors that speak both English and Spanish and 311 can locate assistors who speak additional languages.

For more information, search “health insurance” at nyc.gov.

(YWN Desk – NYC)