Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/198837
Sarasota News Leader October 25, 2013 website isn't working. The calls she's getting range from those involving people who know the ins and outs of the Affordable Care Act and just need help applying for insurance to those who know very little about the law, except that they need to sign up for insurance of some kind for 2014. Page 25 working with the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County, which won a $171,544 federal grant to help folks enroll. "We're educating and informing and we're hitting our goals." But Zackery says the folks the department has reached have "largely" been 40 or older. "We definitely want to help younger individu"Several" have come to Litwiler after trying, als and their families," she adds. and failing, to use HealthCare.gov. "If the website had been working, they probably would The local health department is hosting a numalready have it done," she says. She plans to ber of daily and weekly events at locations broaden her outreach efforts and thinks that all around the county. A calendar posted at as more people find success with the website, sarasotahealthinsurancemarketplace.com the number of clients she's able to assist will shows the breadth of the Health Department's reach. Counselors are stationed at libraries, grow. the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, "The website is doing a lot better — we're Goodwill, the Glasser Schoenbaum Human able to get people a lot further," says Shawnta Services Center and more, helping folks find Zackery, a certified application counselor insurance. The effort continues locally to inform people about the benefits of signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Photo from the National Cancer Institute via Wikimedia Commons