SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) — Health care leaders gathered in Springfield on Wednesday to warn that thousands of people could start the new year without health coverage if they don’t act within six days.
The Massachusetts Health Connector and Caring Health Center officials met at the health center to urge residents to enroll in health insurance by December 23 to ensure coverage begins January 1. “Folks are nervous. People are worried, concerned, and confused by all of the different changes that are going,” said Cristina Huebner Torres, chief executive vice president at Caring Health Center.
While open enrollment runs until January 23, officials stressed the December 23 deadline for those wanting coverage to start at the beginning of the year. People who miss that deadline can still enroll until January 23, but their coverage would not begin until February 1. “We have grown to the point where we have very low, uninsured, or underinsured rates. We want to maintain that and sustain that, keep folks insured and covered having access to quality healthcare and the services that they need,” Huebner Torres added…