Author Archive

Lake County Healthy Living Magazine
By John Sotomayor, Contributing Writer

No other policy under President Barack Obama’s administration rallied with greater determination under the campaign slogans of “Hope” and “Yes We Can” like his Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare. Yet since enrollment began on Oct. 1, the process hasn’t quite worked as originally pitched, leaving many to doubt and ponder, “Can we?” With the March 31 deadline only three months away, Healthy Living places ACA on the examination chair, taking a close look […]

Gainesville Sun
By Kristine Crane, Staff writer

It’s not too late to sign up for health insurance on the federal marketplace. Monday is the deadline for coverage to begin Jan. 1, and on Saturday, navigators will host an event to help people with last-minute efforts to get insurance.

The event, held by the North Central Florida Navigators, which is overseen by the WellFlorida Council in Gainesville, will be held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Center, 1028 NE 14th St. in Gainesville, from 9 a.m. to 2 […]

GTN News

Applying for government issued health insurance may be a little easier. The Obama administration says it met its goal to have the healthcare.gov website working smoothly for most users, but is it?
It’s been two months since the healthcare marketplace opened and officials say healthcare.gov is finally working and “reliably open for business.”

They say it’s working at least 90% of the time but one local woman says 90% is not enough for her to trust with her health.

“No. Not until they are 100% sure […]

Ocala Star Banner
By Bill Thompson

Anna Wilson is one of a kind — literally.

Wilson serves as the designated patient “navigator” for Marion County under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or ACA.

That makes Wilson the only person in town with the credentials to help some of the estimated 65,000 to 80,000 uninsured people in the community obtain health insurance through the ACA.

As politicians a thousand miles away bicker over website flubs, postponing the law’s mandate for individual coverage and other aspects of the program […]

Business Report, North Central Florida

Information from the “County Health Rankings & Roadmaps” program, a collaboration between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, and WellFlorida Council, Inc., a private Gainesville nonprofit.

AS OF 2013:
Ranked 4 in the state for behavioral, clinical, environmental, and social and economic factors determining population health

Ranked 18 in the state for health outcomes, a combination of length and quality of life based on health factors

Total Population – 246,203 / Florida – 18,688,787
Non-Elderly Uninsured – […]

WellFlorida News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (October 17, 2013)— WellFlorida Council’s “Stop Aids Now” campaign has launched an online video series entitled “Stories of Hope” to increase awareness of HIV and to inspire optimism in communities affected by HIV/AIDS.

“Stories of Hope” consists of three documentaries filmed in North Central Florida. The videos are available to view on the Stop AIDS Now website (www.EveryoneStopAIDSNow.org), Vimeo, YouTube and other outlets. They will also be available for viewing at the WellFlorida table at the Ocala Pridefest on Oct. 19 and […]

WellFlorida News Release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (October 15, 2013)—CommunityHealth IT President Kendra Siler-Marsiglio, Ph.D. and Chief Medical Information Officer David Willis, M.D. recently received the prestigious Critical Access and Rural Hospital Champion Award for 2013 from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. The award is given to individuals for their efforts in helping critical access hospitals and small, rural hospitals nationwide effectively achieve Meaningful Use and embrace health information technology (HIT) to improve patient care. The award is given annually for multiple instances of […]

Lake City Repoter
By STEVEN RICHMOND, srichmond@lakecityreporter.com

The Affordable Care Act’s healthcare marketplace officially opened Oct. 1, but flooded phone lines and overloaded website servers created more confusion than solutions for many Columbia County residents.

In an effort to streamline the process, the federal government established “navigators” to provide unbiased advice to uninsured citizens, helping them answer questions and determine their healthcare needs.

“The navigators and navigator programs’ goal is to get people enrolled through the marketplace who aren’t knowledgeable on individual and family plans,” WellFlorida Council associate […]

Gainesville Sun, Letter to the Editor

Thank you to The Sun for the excellent coverage in the Sept. 29 paper regarding the Affordable Care Act and the implications in our area. The coverage was clear, comprehensive and well written.

As the executive director of a nonprofit involved in working with navigators and committed to the expansion of health coverage for all Americans, I am delighted to see coverage with details of web links for more information.

As an American, I choose to pay for part of my health […]

WUFT News
By Mia Jones

Open enrollment on the Health Insurance Marketplace, or healthcare.gov, is still experiencing technical difficulties, but healthcare officials are encouraging people to explore their options and plans.

Visitors to the site attempting to register for individual insurance plans are experiencing problems when they try to log in and apply. People are taken to this pageexplaining what the issue is: too many visitors.

Jeff Feller, an executive officer for the WellFlorida Council, is encouraging visitors to continue to check out the website despite some registration issues.

Feller […]