The Health District will join 57 other organizations around the state that have been selected to provide in-person assistance to people seeking health-care coverage through Connect for Health Colorado, the health insurance marketplace opening this October.

Connect for Health Colorado is the new online health insurance marketplace created in response to the
Affordable Care Act that became law in 2010. The marketplace will consist of a website where individuals and businesses can shop and make side-by-side comparisons of private health plans based on cost, quality, features and doctor networks.

As part of the Connect for Health Assistance Network, the Health District will serve individuals and small businesses in Larimer County.

Specially trained assistants, called Health Coverage Guides, will be available to help individuals, families and small employers consider health plan options, apply for insurance affordability programs and sign up for health coverage.

Enrollment assistance also will be available for low-income residents who qualify for Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) or Medicaid, for which more people in Colorado will be eligible beginning in 2014.

The Health District is partnering with other community agencies to provide the assistance at multiple locations in Fort Collins and Loveland.

Individuals in Larimer County who need or want more personalized help with newly available health options will be able to get it at five assistance locations. In Fort Collins, help will be available at the Larimer County Department of Human Services, Family Medicine Center, Salud Family Health Center and a fourth site that has yet to be determined. Help also will be available at the Larimer County offices in Loveland and at various other locations in Larimer County on a rotating basis.

“We’re hoping to make this as convenient as possible for people to come in, sit down and talk to a trained, neutral guide who can answer their questions about health coverage,” says Carol Plock, executive director of the Health District.

In-person assistance will be available beginning in October, at the same time that the Connect for Health Colorado marketplace opens. Health insurance plans purchased through the marketplace go into effect January 1, 2014.

The Health District is a public agency that provides dental, mental health, prescription assistance and health promotion services to the residents of northern Larimer County.