Mississippi Mayors & Elected Officials collaborate for “March to Healthcare Tour”

Mayors and elected officials, representing cities and towns throughout Mississippi, will partner with Cover Mississippi to educate and enroll their constituents in the Health Insurance Marketplace.

“The March to Healthcare Tour” is collaboration between the Cover Mississippi coalition and state and local leaders. The goal of the tour is to provide direct assistance to the thousands of Mississippians seeking affordable health insurance options under the Affordable Care Act. “Above everything, mayors and local officials want to make certain the needs of their residents are met and that includes making sure they understand what benefits are available to them and their family under the new health care law,” said Percy Bland, Mayor of Meridian. In each city, residents will have an opportunity to talk one-on-one with trained counselors and get assistance in applying for and choosing a health plan ahead of the March 31st open enrollment deadline. “As more people understand the real benefits of the ACA, enrollment and interest in the new health care law has definitely spiked in Mississippi,” said Jarvis Dortch, Program Manager at Mississippi Health Advocacy Program. “In January there was 116% increase in enrollment and 93% of Mississippians enrolling received financial help to pay for their insurance,” said Dortch. Under the new health care law, Mississippians who do not receive health coverage at their job may be eligible for thousands of dollars in tax credits to assist them in purchasing private health insurance plans offered on the Mississippi Health Insurance Marketplace. “We have thousands of hard working people in our town, who thanks to the new health care law, may be able to afford health insurance for the first time.” said Columbus Mayor Robert Smith. In addition to the enrollment tour, Cover Mississippi is ramping up its outreach efforts ahead of the March 31st marketplace deadline. The coalition is currently airing television and radio ads statewide and representatives of the group will be visiting and speaking at churches across Mississippi.

Scheduled Enrollment Tour Events

Hattiesburg March 15 10am-3pm Health Help Mississippi 710 S. 28th Avenue	Greenville March 15 10am-3pm Greenville Weston H.S. 419 East Robertshaw St.	Columbus March 19 3pm-7pm Trotter Convention Center 2nd Avenue North
Jackson March 22 10am-3pm Jackson City Hall 219 S. President Street	Gulfport March 22 10am-3pm First Missionary Baptist Church 1100 E. Pass Road	Meridian March 24 10am-6pm Meridian City Hall 601 23rd Avenue