2020 will be a year to remember for many reasons.  It began with a world-wide pandemic; followed by    the focus on social injustice depicted by Black Lives Matter.  Both the pandemic and the movement shed light on inequities in health care.  In the last few months of the year, there was a historical presidential election, featuring the first woman of color as the future vice-president of America.  The election was made successful by the tremendous turnout-out by black and brown people.  A focal point of the election was the protection of health care.  Health care has been at the center of nearly every story in 2020.

The Affordable Act (ACA) or Obamacare has transformed the American health care system by expanding health coverage to 20 million Americans and saving thousands of lives.  The ACA’s coverage gains have occurred across all income levels and among both children and adults, and disparities between races and ethnicities have narrowed, over the past eight years.

Maryland continues to be a leader in the country in ACA.  During the past enrollment period, Maryland surpassed previous years in enrollments.  Prince George’s County Health Connect, a program of the Department of Social Services, provides health insurance through Maryland Health Connection (MHC), the State’s official health insurance marketplace.   It provides private health insurance, Medicaid, and Maryland Children’s Health Program (MCHP).

During the six-week open enrollment cycle for 2021 coverage, a record 22,866 enrollments took place in Prince George’s County, an increase of 1.8% over 2020.  The success of the Prince George’s County program is due in large measure to the support of its partners which along with the Department of Social Services include the Prince George’s County Health Department; CASA; Community Clinics Inc. (CCI); Health Care Dynamics International, Inc. (HDCI); Mary’s Center; Prince George’s HealthCare Alliance, Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, and Sowing Empowerment & Economic Development (SEED).

Prince George’s County Health Connect’s motto is:  Get Covered! Get Seen! Get Healthy!  It is important to not only gain access to health coverage but to use it! Now more than ever residents need to get and maintain coverage, with a focus on physical and mental health. 

Prince George’s County Health Connect is available to help residents overcome some of the barriers to accessing health care.  For assistance to access health insurance please call PGC Health Connect today.  Bilingual navigators are available by telephone through Prince George’s Health Connect, (301) 927-4500, (240) 719-2167 and its partner, CASA Bi-Lingual Health Line at (301) 270-8432, Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 4 pm. 

For additional information on Maryland Health Connection, visit www.MarylandHealthConnection.gov.  Free consumer assistance is available by calling 855-642-8572 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays.