WFMD
December 5, 2014
The Frederick Keys are helping out with a campaign to encourage more Marylanders to sign up for health insurance coverage. Shortstop Adrian Marin has recorded a radio spot urging residents to call 211 to get information on low cost or no cost health insurance plans.
“We at Maryland Health Care For All are committed to making sure that everybody in Maryland whose eligible for benefits under the Affordable Care Act gets enrolled. And this has been our goal since the beginning,” says Vinnie DeMarco, the President of the Health Care For All Coalition. He spoke at a news conference Thursday at Harry Grove Stadium.
The radio spot began airing Thursday on WFMD and other radio stations in Maryland. The ads have been recorded in English and Spanish.
“Over the last year, we’ve had radio spots, again working with 211, with Baltimore Ravens players, with Washington Redskins players. And now we’re thrilled to have a Frederick Keys baseball player doing this. We know this works,” DeMarco says.
As of December 4th, the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange says 51,796 Marylanders have enrolled in health insurance plans, including 1,771.
During the news conference, Carolyn Quattrocki, the Executive Director of the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange, was asked why hold this campaign when record numbers of people are signing up. “We did surveys over the summer that show that despite that fact that it’s been around a year and all of the national coverage, there are so many people who still really don’t know about it to start with,” she responded. “Even among those who sort of have a vague sense of what it’s all about, don’t understand that they may qualify for a substantial amount of financial assistance.”
Open enrollment through the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange ends on February 15th, 2015. But for those who want coverage to begin on January 1st, 2015, they need to sign up by December 18th, 2014.
Last modified: December 8, 2014
