HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital to host free seminar on the Affordable Care Act

BELLEVILLE – HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital and Cardon Outreach will jointly present a free community event seminar on the Affordable Care Act.

“How to Navigate the Health Insurance Marketplace and Medicaid” will be held Thursday, Dec. 11 at 6 p.m. in the Millennium Room at the hospital, 340 W. Lincoln St., Belleville.

Cardon Outreach representatives Erin Keene and Jaimie Peecher will discuss what the Affordable Care Act means for residents of Illinois and how to enroll in coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace or Illinois Medicaid.

St. Elizabeth’s Hospital is partnering with Cardon Outreach to provide access to health insurance plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace. Cardon Outreach is a national company that provides eligibility and enrollment services in more than 500 hospitals throughout the nation. Cardon Outreach partners with Hospital Sisters Health System and its 14 hospitals to provide Medicaid Eligibility Services and Qualified Health Plan Enrollment Services to uninsured members of the community and patients of HSHS.

The Health Insurance Marketplace will allow people to compare prices and shop for health insurance — online at http://getcoveredillinois.gov or by phone at 1 (866) 311-1119. Enrollment for the Health Insurance Marketplace opened Nov. 15 and continues through Feb. 15, 2015. Insurance coverage begins Jan. 1, 2015. In order to receive coverage on Jan. 1, participants must enroll by Dec. 15.

As part of the hospital’s mission, St. Elizabeth’s is dedicated to providing high quality health care to all, especially those in need. St. Elizabeth’s is also partnering with East Side Health District to sign up people in the on-site enrollment center, in Room 2308 (main floor) at 211 S. Third St. in Belleville. The center is staffed: Mondays, Tuesdays and Friday from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Additional hours are available at the O’Fallon Medical Building, 1512 N. Green Mount Road in O’Fallon, on Wednesdays between 1 to 4:30 p.m. and Thursdays, 8 a.m. to noon. Patients or visitors who may be uninsured are encouraged to visit and learn more about the available insurance plans.

For more information about this seminar or the enrollment center, contact Donna Meyers, director of Mission Integration/Pastoral Care/Community Benefit, at (618) 234-2120, ext. 2132.