skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump touts immigration crackdown despite concerns about due process; NY faces potential impacts from federal vote on emissions standards; ND Tribes can elevate tourism game with new grants; WA youth support money for Medicaid, not war.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Major shifts in environmental protections, immigration enforcement, civil rights as Trump administration reshapes government priorities. Rural residents and advocates for LGBTQ youth say they're worried about losing services.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Migration to rural America increased for the fourth year, technological gaps handicap rural hospitals and erode patient care, and doctors are needed to keep the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians healthy and align with spiritual principles.

Need Health Insurance? AZ Enrollment Reopens for 'Bidencare' Coverage

play audio
Play

Tuesday, February 16, 2021   

TUCSON, Ariz. -- It was originally nicknamed "Obamacare."

But a lot of people are now calling it "Bidencare," because President Joe Biden has reopened the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to help Arizonans and others who lost health insurance during the pandemic.

Registration for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace is now available through May 15.

Health-care experts estimate 85% of eligible applicants will qualify for financial assistance with their premiums, and many also will qualify for help with deductibles and co-pays.

Allen Gjerfvig, director of navigator and enrollment services for Cover Arizona, said the Biden administration is restoring a key part of the program to publicize the special enrollment period.

"The new administration is going to put $50 million into marketing and advertising to help people understand that they have an opportunity if they're uninsured to get covered," Gjerfvig explained.

The Trump administration tried but failed to eliminate the ACA, although it did cut funding for key parts of the plan, including money for information and registration assistance.

Biden promised during the 2020 campaign to expand and improve the program.

Gjerfvig noted at the start of 2020, about 1 in 10 Arizonans did not have health insurance, and job losses caused by the pandemic may have increased that number.

He added people who need coverage should go online and shop around.

"There are thousands of people in Arizona that could get a free Bronze plan," Gjerfvig pointed out. "Their financial assistance for the premium would be 100% covered and they would also be receiving help to reduce those out-of-pocket expenses."

Gjerfvig emphasized his group, Cover Arizona, is geared up to assist Arizonans during the special enrollment period, and as they say, operators are standing by.

"We also hold the only health-insurance navigator grant in the state," Gjerfvig stressed. "We work with 180 different sites through our community health centers that all have certified application counselors."

You can enroll directly with the Health Insurance Marketplace directly at healthcare.gov. If you need assistance, contact Cover Arizona and talk with a volunteer, or if you prefer, set up a face-to-face meeting.

Call 800-377-3536 or go to CoverAZ.org.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
A day before Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested, federal authorities apprehended a former New Mexico judge and his wife on charges related to harboring an undocumented immigrant. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Legal experts and advocates are outraged over the arrest of a Milwaukee judge last week who was charged with helping an undocumented defendant avoid a…


play sound

President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have proposed privatizing the United States Postal Service by selling it off to a corporation such as FedEx or UP…

Environment

play sound

A major player in the Northwest's energy landscape is considering changes in the future, as extreme climate events make power delivery in Oregon more …


The Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington is the largest in the Bonneville Power Administration system. (Will/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

A major player in the Northwest's energy landscape is considering changes in the future as extreme climate events make power delivery in Washington mo…

Social Issues

play sound

On May 1, Oregon labor and immigrants' rights organizations are gathering in Salem calling for justice for immigrant workers and an end to mass …

play sound

A bill to legalize cigar smoking in designated Montana barrooms has failed a third reading in the state House. Similar legislation is introduced most …

Social Issues

play sound

Tourism generates $3 billion annually in North Dakota but tribal officials say direct spending from visitors does not always reach their areas. Now…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021