Experts Help Oklahomans Sign Up For Affordable Care Act Ahead Of Deadline

If you're thinking about signing up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, now is the time.

The deadline to sign up is February 15th and groups all over Tulsa are hosting events in order to help walk people through the process.

Organizers at the Claim Your Coverage event Friday said they helped more than 60 people sign up for insurance, but there are still many people out there who need to get signed up.

The deadline to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act is fast approaching, and Tulsans like Jeff Wheeler and his partner Michael rushed to sign up.

"Well, we're self-employed and we haven't had health insurance for several years, so we're just excited to know that we'll have that to fall back on," Wheeler said.

The two own rental properties all over Tulsa, but even with that kind of revenue, insurance has always been expensive, even for bare minimum coverage.

"The last time we looked into it, it was like $500 a piece per month for insurance and it's just you know kind of terrible," Wheeler said.

Now, they said, they'll be paying $240 a month and get to be on the same plan.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Karen DeSalvo is touring the state to make sure Oklahomans know about the upcoming February 15th deadline and said Oklahoma has one of the largest groups of uninsured, but that it is improving.

"It's been a great response. In fact, Oklahoma is doing really well in general with people getting enrolled in new coverage this year,” she said. “They're well ahead of what they were last year. There's been more than 100,000 people who have signed up for coverage through the marketplace in Oklahoma already this year."

That's, thanks in part to events like the one Friday at All Souls Unitarian Church where navigators walked people through the process of signing up and helped them make informed decisions on which policies will work best.

It's a process Jeff and Michael said they were thankful for.

"Like I said, we can sleep easier at night now," Wheeler said.

DeSalvo said, even though people are more than welcome to sign up online, its events like Friday's, that help people really find the best plan for them.

If you missed out on Friday's event, there is another February 7 and 14 at Morton Comprehensive Health Center, at 1334 North Lansing Avenue, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. both days. You can call 918-295-6195 for more information.

For more information on ACA in general you can call 211 or visit tulsa-health.org or okpca.org.