More than 16 million people have gotten healthcare coverage under Obamacare, either through the health insurance marketplaces or Medicaid. Now administration officials are worried they won’t know how to use it.
The administration started a new campaign that aims to teach the newly insured about preventive actions they can take to stay healthy, said Sylvia Mathews Burwell, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Burwell, speaking Thursday at an event for the group Enroll America, said the initiative also will involve the White House and surgeon general.
The campaign will hold 50 events across the country in August to focus on the new benefits of health insurance. The events also will help those that have had insurance, Burwell said.
“Let’s face it, understanding our benefits can be confusing for anyone, especially those who have coverage for the first time in our lives,” according to a transcript of Burwell’s remarks.
Connecting with women also will be a priority as they “often act as the healthcare decision-makers for their families,” Burwell noted.
The newly insured tend to avoid preventive care because they think they don’t need it or are worried about the cost, Burwell said.
That leads to more trips to the emergency room when something goes wrong.
One of the biggest-selling points of Obamacare was it would reduce the number of emergency room visits and therefore cut costs. However, a survey released earlier this year by the American College of Emergency Physicians found three in four ER doctors said patient visits increased since January 2014, after the first open enrollment period.
