Mayor's Office

The City of Madison is committed to ensuring that everyone has access to health care because having high quality, affordable health care options is a fundamental human right.

Lack of health insurance has negative effects on your health and well-being. For example, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, uninsured adults are less likely to receive preventative services and health monitoring. When they are hospitalized, uninsured people receive fewer diagnostic and therapeutic services and have higher mortality rates than those with insurance.

The good news is, there are more options to get health insurance than ever. Open enrollment through the Federal Health Insurance Marketplace continues until January 15, 2023. The marketplace aims to close the coverage gap and address ongoing disparities in underserved communities.

 According to a recent report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 92% of enrollees will have access to options from three or more insurance companies when they shop for plans this year.

With so many options, it can be overwhelming to decide what works best for your family and your budget, but there are resources available, including help from the navigators at Covering Wisconsin. Covering Wisconsin is a federally certified, state-licensed navigator agency based out of the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Their mission is to connect Wisconsin residents with health insurance coverage and other programs for health. They can offer free, local advice from health insurance experts who know these plans inside and out and can help guide you through the enrollment process.

Don’t forget, you can head over to any Madison Public Library location anytime for internet access to fill out your health insurance applications and learn more about your options. There are also a couple of special events coming up in December where trained health insurance navigators from Covering Wisconsin will be on hand to answer details. Here are the details:

• December 3, 10am-2pm at Hawthorne Library, 2707 E. Washington Ave.
• December 10, 10am-2pm at Pinney Library, 516 Cottage Grove Rd.

These events are free to attend, but registration is required. Schedule an appointment by calling 608-261-1455 or 2-1-1, or schedule online at www.coveringwi.org/enroll