NEW VIDEO SERIES ON COVID-19 & DISABILITY
The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) is proud to announce the launch of our video series on coronavirus (COVID-19) and disability. This week, we released the first two of these videos which addressed who in the disability community is most at risk for severe complications due to COVID-19 and what people with disabilities should do regarding social distancing especially when family members and caregivers are unable to practice social distancing. Our third video in the series will be released later today and will address precautions people who use wheelchairs need to consider. All of these videos can be found on the AAHD Facebook page, Instagram page and in a YouTube playlist.
We have added these videos to our resources webpage on COVID-19 and disability. You can now find these resources on our website at: https://www.aahd.us/covid-19/. On this page, you’ll find general resources on Disability and COVID-19, COVID-19 & Medicaid, Advocacy Resources and Governmental Resources.
Are you looking for health insurance coverage during the COVID-19 outbreak? You may qualify for a Special Enrollment Period (SEP). Some states have authorized a SEP as a result of COVID-19. You can find out which states are offering them in our news item. There are also SEPs available for people who have lost coverage due to a loss of their job. To learn more about how to access a marketplace plan and what they cover during COVID-19, check out the new page from healthcare.gov on “Marketplace Coverage and Coronavirus.”
Additionally, with a reduced income, many people may now be eligible for Medicaid and Medicaid enrollment is always available year-round! AAHD has been working with Community Catalyst and other partners in conducting outreach to educate individuals about health insurance literacy, Medicaid enrollment, special enrollment periods (SEPs) and other issues related to healthcare enrollment. Links to graphics like the one below which highlight year-round Medicaid enrollment can be found in the Community Catalyst Outreach Hub which has a wide variety of graphics on Medicaid and SEPs. To learn more about the project we are doing with Community Catalyst, check out our earlier news item.
The Community Catalyst project also has social media messaging available to highlight various aspects of health insurance enrollment related to COVID-19. This messaging can be found in their COVID-19 Messaging Guide.
If you missed our announcement last week, AAHD is conducting a confidential, real-time online assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare and healthcare access among persons with a range of disabilities. We are inviting adults with disabilities to complete the COVID-19 & Disability Survey by May 1st.
A new chart from the National Academy for State Health Policy breaks down what all the states are doing related to insurance regulations and COVID-19.
Are you wondering how the COVID-19 outbreak could affect healthcare costs? A new issue brief from the Kaiser Family Foundation addresses this topic.
How are health insurance companies addressing COVID-19? The Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) looks at that issue in a recent blog post.
Another blog post from the Georgetown CHIR addresses what states are doing to increase the access to telehealth during COVID-19. Additionally, CMS just released a new toolkit for states on increasing access to telehealth in the Medicaid and CHIP program.
Are you looking for local partners to help with outreach to the disability community? The NDNRC has Community Outreach Collaboratives (COCs) which work to increase collaborations in the community, dissemination and outreach efforts and enrollment of people with disabilities in the ACA marketplace. You can find a COC, on the COC page of our website.
Archives of our weekly updates are available on the NDNRC website.