HIGHLIGHT
Coalition Connection: Thanks to Cover Missouri for the great idea
SEP or SOL? Game Offers ‘Edu-tainment’ at Outreach Events
A Missouri assister came up with the idea for an outreach game, ‘SEP (Special Enrollment Period) or SOL (Soooo- out-of-Luck)’, in order to educate and entertain consumers while teaching them about health care terms.
When presenting to a formal group setting, we would present the Health Insurance Education Initiative information, followed by our SEP or SOL wheel of pictures and questions.
Here’s how the game works. Picture a wheel with 14 spaces on it:
- 4 red and 2 yellow spaces represent SEP questions,
- 2 green spaces represent BONUS questions,
- 2 light blue spaces represent SOL questions,
- 2 purple spaces represent a COMBO of (SEP or SOL) questions and finally,
- 2 dark purple spaces represent questions the consumer could ask US, about anything health related. Hint: What is an Out-of-Pocket Maximum?
So, for example, if you spin the wheel and you land on a red space, the picture presented could be “Just Married”, and show a red heart. Then the question asked is:
- Q) You Just got married. Does this life-changing event qualify you for an SEP… or are you SOL?
- A) The consumer answers “SEP!!” and then the conversation continues….
- Q) Do you know how many days you have to enroll in a plan… 30, 60, or 90 days?
- A) And the answer is “60 days!!!”, the consumer is correct and wins a prize.
No one walks away a loser, because they gain knowledge and earn some prizes. The consumers really like it because it is engaging, informative, and fun. And we like it because it keeps their attention!
Tell us about your outreach games and ideas and we will share with the group!
UPCOMING EVENTS
If you know about health care-related and/or outreach and enrollment events happening in your area, visit our events page and enter your event into our Submit An Event form.
EVENTS
Signature collection for Medicaid Expansion in Nebraska
Now – June, 2018
If you haven’t heard, Nebraska Appleseed and Enroll Nebraska will be a part of signature collection to allow voters to decide this fall if Nebraska should expand Medicaid to 90,000 Nebraskans who can’t afford health coverage. If you or your organization would like to support the effort, contact Eric at 402-438-8853, ext 126 or esavaiano@neappleseed.org!
NEWS AND UPDATES
If you’d like more health-related news, we recommend Kaiser Health News to sign up for periodic email updates.
Lincoln Journal Star: Medicaid expansion petition drive begins
The initiative petition drive to expand Medicaid coverage to an estimated 90,000 Nebraskans, most of whom described as the working poor, is underway.
Nebraska Radio Network: Final ACA enrollment in Nebraska higher than ever
CMS breaks down the record-breaking enrollment numbers your hard work helped achieve. See the rural/urban data, plus the demographic breakdown.
Healthline.com: New Rules Take Effect That Will Limit Obamacare Enrollment
The next enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act doesn’t open for more than six months. However, there are some quiet changes that’ve been made to the rules governing Obamacare that will affect what kind of health insurance consumers can buy and how much they’ll pay for it.
RESOURCES
Nebraska Appleseed Blog: Tax credits, rural customers increase in 2017-18 ACA enrollment
REMINDER: Certified Application Counselor Designated Organizations (CDO)
Program Refresh Updates
ALL existing CDOs must reapply to continue participation in the CAC Program. Existing CDOs will be able to reapply to the CAC program beginning this spring and throughout the summer. Beginning in April, CDOs will be invited back to reapply in waves according to the state in which they operate. Nebraska will be part of the second wave of notifications that, as far as we know, have not started yet.
IMPORTANT: Any CDO contacts who did not receive the initial email about the upcoming refresh, sent in March, can send an email to the CAC inbox at CACquestions@cms.hhs.gov to provide their organization name, CDO ID, and updated contact information. They will capture your information and actively reach out to you during the application refresh process to let you know when to apply. Please check with others in your organization before sending this email – remember that this initial email may have been sent to someone outside of the program, like your executive director or grants manager.