Author Archive

The Independent Florida Alligator
By Jessica Pereda

Nonprofit organization WellFlorida will be aiding students in the final stretch to sign up for health care.

The organization’s website, ncfnavigators.org, allows users to reach out to trained workers — called navigators — for help. The program was started in response to the Affordable Care Act, which requires every citizen to be insured by March 31.

Under the act, young adults can stay under their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26.

Students have been a focus for these groups because they […]

Gainesville Sun
By Kristine Crane

Many of the Affordable Care Act enrollment events at the University of Florida have gathered just a scattering of students, and Tuesday’s — the last push before the enrollment deadline at the end of the month — was no exception.

Scant student interest is not necessarily a bad sign, however. It likely signals the fact that at least part of the “young invincibles” who the government is keen to enroll are staying on their parents’ insurance plans. The law mandates they can do […]

WCJB TV 20 News

Studies show young americans aren’t signing up for health insurance through the marketplace, even with a deadline looming above their heads.

The deadline for open enrollment is March 31st and anyone who misses the deadline will have to pay a penalty— $95 or 1% of their family income.

Young americans say they don’t need the insurance while others say they might not understand it.

“They just don’t like to be told what to do, basically.  It could also just be, sort of like myself, sort […]

WellFlorida News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 11, 2014)—Suwannee River Area Education Center (SRAHEC) will host its 6th Annual Rural Tobacco Summit at Lake Shore Hospital in Lake City on April 1. The free event, “Addiction, Tobacco and E-Cigarettes: A Clinical Update,” will present information relating to the current effect of tobacco on youth and adults.

Lake Shore Hospital and the North Central Florida Cancer Control Collaborative (NCFCCC) are co-sponsoring the event as part of SRAHEC’s StellarEd Solutions program to encourage health professional education. Presentations will focus on […]

By Kristine Crane
Gainesville Sun

As the March 31 deadline to sign up for health insurance on the federal exchanges approaches, local navigators are hosting a public enrollment event on Saturday.

The sign-up will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at HealthStreet at 2401 Archer Road. It is one of several sign-up events that navigators and application counselors have held in the past few months.

As of February, 296,892 Floridians had signed up for health insurance, the vast majority for the Silver Plan, in which insurance companies […]

WellFlorida News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (March 5, 2014)— March 31, 2014 is the last day to apply for insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace if you would like to gain coverage in 2014 and avoid penalties. The next enrollment period begins Nov. 15, 2014. To assist with the enrollment process, Health Insurance Marketplace Navigators will be holding an enrollment event on Saturday, January 11 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at HealthStreet, 2401 Archer Road, Gainesville.  (HealthStreet is located near the intersection of SW 23rd Drive […]

Health Resources and Services Administration
Health Information Technology and Quality Webinar
Friday, February 28, 2014, 2PM – 3PM ET

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is the United States’ primary authority for communications law, regulation, and technological innovation. They provide leadership for the nation’s communications infrastructure, and relevant to the safety net community, provide investment in broadband services and facilities to enable access to global technologies.

HRSA provides funding for community-based programs which are programs that are funded at the local and community level. Several programs, […]

By Kristine Crane

Gainesville Sun

Alachua County will benefit the most among all other Florida counties from the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, according to a recent analysis by a California-based financial services information website.

Called “NerdWallet,” the group provides financial information for consumers in a number of areas, including health care and insurance, travel, housing and education. Started by hedge fund and financial analysts, the group includes a team of number crunchers specialized in various sectors of the economy.

Health analyst Napala Pratini did the analysis […]

Gainesville Sun
By Cindy Swirko

While the navigators had no one to guide through the Affordable Care Act at an outreach event Saturday, they said plenty of Alachua County residents are enrolling — many of whom had been getting health care through the county’s now defunct CHOICES program.

CHOICES, which had been funded with local quarter-cent sales tax, provided limited health care for the working poor. It expired last year just as the federal Affordable Care Act was starting.

“I have gotten a number of people who were on […]

Independent Florida Alligator
Robyn Smith, Alligator Contributing Writer

One-sixth of people infected with HIV don’t know they have it, but UF organizations are working together to make sure Gators don’t become a statistic.

The UF Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures, the Institute of Black Culture, LGBT Affairs and WellFlorida Council are hosting free HIV testing today.

It will run from noon to 2 p.m. at La Casita, 1504 W. University Ave.

Testing is free for all UF students, faculty and staff with Gator 1 Cards.

Austin Sanchez, a 19-year-old UF finance […]