La Red Health Center announces 2019 grants
Sen. Tom Carper joined La Red Health Center officials, marketplace navigators and marketplace enrollees Nov. 16 to highlight the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace Open Enrollment season and to announce nearly $4 million in federal grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to La Red Health Center.
Open enrollment on the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace is happening now at www.healthcare.gov until Dec. 15, and Delawareans are urged to sign up for a health insurance plan.
Free, in-person enrollment assistance is available at La Red Health Center, which has locations throughout the state, which can be found on www.choosehealthde.com. For 2019, Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware will offer a total of eight plans for individuals - one gold plan, three silver, two bronze, one catastrophic and one platinum. Two insurers - Delta Dental of Delaware Inc. and Dominion Dental Services Inc. - will offer a collective 11 standalone dental plans on the marketplace.
La Red CEO Brian Olson also announced the two grants that La Red received for 2019. One grant, $3.5 million, will support La Red’s operating costs to meet the healthcare needs of Sussex County residents. The other $289,000 grant from the Department of Health and Human Services will treat substance abuse patients.
“Our federally qualified health centers like La Red reach out to those living in underserved communities and provide them with a healthcare home. FQHCs also are vital in getting people a health care plan that fits their needs and budget, and I appreciate all that navigators here and throughout our state are doing to help ensure that Delawareans are covered during Open Enrollment,” said Carper. “This nearly $4 million in federal funding will enable La Red to continue providing lifesaving services to patients in Sussex County and helping residents pick the health care coverage that works for them. These health centers are also increasingly becoming the first line of defense in combatting our nation’s deadly opioid epidemic, and part of the funding we are announcing today will go toward treating Sussex residents who are battling addiction.”
