Actors’ Fund of America, dba The Actors’ Fund

More than 1 million individuals have enrolled in public and private coverage through the NY State of Health Marketplace.

Consumer assistance has played a critical role in helping previously uninsured individuals understand their health insurance options and apply for coverage—in New York alone, fully half of all those who enrolled in coverage relied on in-person assistance. Significant work remains, however, to eliminate barriers to coverage for more than 1 million New Yorkers who remain uninsured and to help those who did enroll renew their coverage. To complement the State’s efforts to engage and enroll uninsured residents, NYHealth launched in 2014 a statewide enrollment network of community-based organizations to conduct education, outreach, enrollment, and referrals. These organizations directly reach populations known to be uninsured at disproportionately high rates: low-wage workers; immigrants; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender New Yorkers. NYHealth awarded The Actors’ Fund a grant to continue these efforts in 2015.

With NYHealth funding, grantees of this initiative undertook a comprehensive range of consumer engagement activities and enrolled uninsured New Yorkers into coverage. Specifically, The Actors’ Fund helped arts and entertainment professionals secure affordable health insurance and helped reduce the number of uninsured artists in New York City. It worked with entertainment unions, arts councils, and membership associations to schedule educational workshops and seminars for their members and constituents about health insurance options through the NY State of Health Marketplace. It used media campaigns to spread awareness about its free enrollment services and refer arts professionals to further educational tools and information.