- News
- TV
Schedules
Interactive Grid, Printable Listings, Kids TV Schedule
Watch Online
Full PBS Episodes Watch WXXI-TV Live
Channels
WXXI-TV 21, World, Create,
Kids 24/7, City 12Programs
Second Opinion, Rochester International Jazz Festival,
Arts InFocus, All WXXI Productions - Radio
Radio
Stations
WXXI News, Classical 91.5, WRUR , WITH (Ithaca), WXXY (Houghton), WEOS (Geneva), Reachout Radio
- The Little
- CITY
- Education
Information for
- Events
Upcoming Events
Other Events
Education
- Support
Support WXXI
myWXXI, Membership, Corporate Sponsorship, Planned Giving, Volunteer, Vehicle Donation
Pledge Now!
more... - Cultural Calendar
Extended enrollment deadline keeps State health navigators busy
By Matthew Leonard ~ Posted Tue, 12/16/2014 - 3:58pm
A month into the state’s second health insurance open enrollment period, officials say the state is on-track to getting more New Yorkers insured. WXXI’s Michelle Faust spoke with Elisabeth Benjamin, the Vice President of Health Initiatives at the Community Service Society—a key navigator agency in New York State.
The state health department announced more than 154 thousand previously uninsured New Yorkers have signed up for health insurance since open enrollment began on November 15th.
Benjamin says her agency has experienced a high volume of requests for assistance enrolling in the state exchange, despite early speculation that it would be more difficult to reach uninsured people this year.
"Everybody's getting more confident in the website and the idea of enhanced penalties is finally kicking in for folks.”
According to Benjamin, the state’s decision to extend the deadline to enroll for insurance that begins the first of the year has helped.
“We are just getting overwhelmed with calls and email requests for appointments. It seems that a lot of people are going to take advantage of that extra 5 days that New York State was so great to go out and get permission to grant New Yorkers.”
Open enrollment runs until February 15th.