The Central Missouri Area Agency on Aging (CMAAA) has found more and more clients who fall within what the agency's chief executive officer calls the "Medicaid gap."
"They have too little income to be eligible for Medicaid because Missouri has not expanded Medicaid, but are not at 100 percent of the FPL (Federal Poverty Level), so they are not eligible for advanced tax credits," said Jean Leonatti, the agency's CEO.
Those tax credits help subsidize insurance coverage bought in the Health Insurance Marketplace, a result of President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act.
CMAAA employs licensed navigators - those tasked with assisting Missourians to sign up for health insurance on the Health Insurance Marketplace at healthcare.gov.
The deadline is Saturday to sign up for health insurance that begins March 1, and the final deadline to sign up for health insurance in the marketplace is March 31 for coverage that begins May 1.
"The consumers we are seeing now appear to be those that have unusual family situations or tax filing situations and want assistance before continuing online," Leonatti said. "Things like adult children living with parents, but not dependents on parents tax return; people with various immigration status; and legally separated but not divorced."
She said another client wanted to go from full-time employment to part time, and wanted to see what health insurance would cost if he did that.
Sarah Russell, billing manager at the Community Health Center of Central Missouri (CHCCM), said the center is continuing to see a steady stream of clients seeking navigator services.
"I think probably because the word is out that the website is working better," she said. "We also have a lot of patients that have their insurance now and have questions like how to use their benefit, where to go for care and stuff like that. So, we kind of have a mixed population now - both enrollment and helping people figure out what to do next now that they have insurance."
Leonatti has been contacted by three individuals whom she helped enroll and who are now using their insurance cards.
"They basically said it is working, and that they had encountered no problems using their cards," she said. "One had already gotten prescriptions filled, and another said she had used it at appointments without any problems."
Both Leonatti and Russell said their agencies will continue to push enrollment until the deadline.
Leonatti said CMAAA will host an enrollment event in conjunction with the Cover Missouri Coalition's statewide enrollment day on March 8.
CHCCM is also planning a March enrollment event to encourage Missourians to sign up.
To schedule an appointment with a navigator, contact CMAAA at 573-443-5823 or CHCCM at 573-632-2777.