Sarah Heller of Wilmington is one of the 90,000 Delawareans who had to manage their health without the benefit of affordable health insurance — until now. On Oct. 1 she met with John Kearney Jr., a marketplace guide at Christiana Care Health System, to get assistance in choosing an affordable health insurance plan. Heller shared her story at Christiana Care Health System's Choose Health Delaware Day, marking one of the most significant milestones in the history of health care in the United States. For the first time millions of Americans like Heller have the opportunity to buy affordable health insurance, made possible with the passage of the Affordable Care Act. "I'm a wife, a mother of two, a grandmother of three and a hard-working American. People like me need health insurance," Heller said. "Thanks to the help of Christiana Care's marketplace guides, I am pleased today to start the process of finally signing up for coverage." More than 100 health care professionals, dignitaries and community members gathered in the lobby of the Center for Heart & Vascular Health at Christiana Hospital to mark the historic occasion. The event was covered extensively by several TV, online and print news outlets. "This is one of the most important social transformations in our country," said Robert J. Laskowski, M.D., MBA, president and CEO of Christiana Care. "Equal access to health care for all Delawareans and all Americans brings us so much closer to the country we all want to live in. It's absolutely critical for us in our role as health providers at Christiana Care to increase the number of people who have health insurance and to help guide our neighbors through the experience of signing up for health insurance." Christiana Care's nine marketplace guides were on hand to help people enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace and to educate them on how to best manage their health needs. Christiana Care has partnered with the state through Choose Health Delaware to educate the public about the Health Insurance Marketplace. Christiana Care also is the only hospital-based health system in the region to hire marketplace guides to assist the uninsured. "Our marketplace guides are here to help you," said Janice Nevin, M.D., MPH, chief medical officer for Christiana Care. "They are ready to help our neighbors learn about their coverage options, what assistance they might qualify for and to guide them through the enrollment process." Bettina Riveros, chair of the Delaware Health Care Commission, which has overseen the health care changes in the First State under the Affordable Care Act, thanked Christiana Care for its leadership in helping uninsured people find coverage. "Frankly, anything worth doing is hard . . . but it is endlessly worth the effort," Riveros said. "The online marketplace will be life-changing." During the afternoon, Christiana Care hosted a community health fair at Hanover Presbyterian Church, near Wilmington Hospital. The health fair gave neighbors an opportunity to personally meet the marketplace guides who can help them access health insurance. "The health insurance marketplace is open, and Christiana Care is here to help people learn about their coverage options and guide them through the assistance process so they can have access to expert care and preventive care," said Edmondo Robinson, M.D, MBA, associate chief medical officer and physician-in-chief of Wilmington Hospital. "We will absolutely take care of you when you are ill, but we also want to keep you well, and one of the ways we do that is by helping people get access to health insurance." Wilmington Mayor Dennis P. Williams and other dignitaries also appeared at the event and thanked Christiana Care for its support in helping Delawareans access health insurance. Michael Rosenthal, M.D., chair of Christiana Care's Department of Family & Community Medicine, which oversees the marketplace guides, explained the long view. "When we take people who don't have health insurance and link them to a primary care physician, they have better outcomes," he said. "When we can help patients access health insurance, they live healthier lives." Marketplace guides are working throughout Christiana Care and visiting health fairs, churches, community centers and school-based health centers to educate individuals and their families about how to enroll in the health insurance marketplace.

• published: 13 Nov 2013
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