Event planning in the winter is always a fiasco – especially this year.  After weeks of planning for our Missouri Town Hall “Keeping our Clients Covered” we are finally just one day away and en route (no thanks to premature flight cancellations due to the not-so-mighty Titan).  As open enrollment for the health exchanges is drawing to a close in less than 30 days, we are scrambling to get clients connected to appropriate insurance.  Not only in our offices in New York City, but across the country, community based organizations like us are trying to get a hold on what needs to be done, with whom, and how to best do this.

Tomorrow in St. Louis, we are holding a Town Hall bringing together HIV service providers, health departments, navigators and other community based organizations. As we do with all our services and events, we prepared by asking folks in the area what concerns they are seeing in their clients, and what concerns they themselves are having with the changes in the healthcare system.  Overwhelmingly, we are seeing a lot of questions about:

• What should we consider in selecting the best plan for people living with HIV/AIDS?
• In states where Medicaid is not expanding, such as Missouri, what can we do to help our clients get the most out of the ACA?
• What can we do if our client wants to change plans because they found a better one?
• How do we navigate the new system?

We put together a Panel of local experts, including navigators, community based organizations and the health department, to share their experience, strategies and perspectives in this last month of enrollment. We also will have Demonstrations of how to select a plan, including tools to help with the process.  As there is such a wide range of experience at our events, we expect that the Roundtable Discussions will be especially beneficial in building our service networks to serve clients best.

One thing that is clear about the ACA: we must have better communication and partnerships with each other.

If you are not able to attend, join us in our LIVE WEBCAST of the event between 1:30 and 2:15 at www.make.tv.nlaad, or follow the event on Twitter using #MOcoveredHIV

Event Details:

Keeping Our Clients Covered

Tuesday March 4, 2014

12-5pm

Sheraton St. Louis City Center

400 S. 14^th St.

St. Louis , MO 63103