The Berks County Latino Chamber of Commerce brought together local entrepreneurs and business owners Thursday to learn more about the affordable insurance offered through Pennie, Pennsylvania’s health insurance marketplace, and the Spanish-language resources available to community members who want to explore their health insurance options.
“GACLA is proud to partner with the Chamber to support Pennie’s initiatives during their open enrollment season,” said GACLA Executive Director Luz B. Colón. “The Berks County Hispanic Chamber can help us to connect with Latino entrepreneurs in the area and other community partners. Thanks to the American rescue plan Pennie is here to provide never-before-seen savings in health care.”
The Pennie application at pennie.com is available in Spanish, and Pennie can send all communications to customers in Spanish. Bilingual Pennie Customer Service members, Pennie-certified Assisters and Pennie-certified brokers are also available to guide individuals through every step of the process.
Colón added, “Our aim is to get our Latino communities in Berks and across the commonwealth affordable health coverage to help combat social determinants of health. Pennie is here to help, and the Pennie team provides many resources to help Pennsylvanians who are more comfortable navigating personal medical decisions in Spanish. This is important information for every Latino community across the commonwealth.”
Pennie’s mission is to improve the accessibility and affordability of individual market health coverage for all Pennsylvanians.
“The Berks County Latino Chamber of Commerce focuses on improving communities by providing information and resources,” said Josie Boykins, Chair of the Berks County Latino Chamber. “We are honored to work with GACLA on supporting Penne and connecting with the Latino Community.”
“One of Pennie’s main goals is to break down the barriers to accessing health coverage,” said Pennie Executive Director Zach Sherman. “Our partnerships with GACLA and the Berks County Latino Chamber of Commerce are key in making sure all Pennsylvanians know that Pennie is a safe and trusted source for applying, shopping, and enrolling in high quality health coverage while being the link to the now-enhanced financial assistance to fit that coverage into one’s monthly budget.”
In July 2019, Gov. Wolf signed legislation establishing the state-based marketplace. Pennie replaced healthcare.gov as Pennsylvania’s official destination for shopping for health insurance plans and the only source for financial assistance to help with the cost of coverage and care.
Currently there are over 335,000 Pennie customers throughout the commonwealth, and 9 out of 10 experience savings through financial assistance.
Open Enrollment is happening right now. December 15th is the deadline to enroll for coverage starting on New Year’s Day, 2022. Open Enrollment runs until January 15th, which is the deadline for coverage that starts on February 1st, 2022. Go to pennie.com or call 1-844-844-8040 for more information.
