Dibos: Need Medicaid Enrollment Assistance? We Can Help
In our mountain region, 10.2 percent of our community does not have health insurance. While this is a significant decrease and improvement from 14.3 percent of uninsured in 2019, this number is still too high.
Our government provides health insurance to low-income Americans of all ages through Medicaid. Many people in our valley qualify for Medicaid but may not know it or have had difficulty applying. One year ago, Vail Health created a free program aimed at decreasing the number of uninsured individuals in our community by working to enroll more locals in Medicaid. Our specialists aid in the application process from start to finish and provide bilingual services to anyone in the valley, regardless of documentation status.
Since the start of the program in March 2021, our Vail Health Community Outreach team has helped 279 people apply to Medicaid, with 201 people being approved for Medicaid. Those who were not eligible were connected to Mountain Family Health Centers to apply for private health insurance options or enroll in their sliding scale fee program.
Medicaid provides health coverage to 78.9 million Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults, and people with disabilities. In Colorado, more than 1.6 million people are covered by Medicaid, and it is accepted by Vail Health and Mountain Family Health. Stipulations apply for Medicaid acceptance by Colorado Mountain Medical. Medicare is a different federal program from Medicaid that provides health coverage if you are 65-plus or under 65 and have a disability, no matter your income.
To get free help applying for Medicaid, please call our Vail Health Community Outreach team at 970-422-3039 or email communityoutreach@vailhealth.org.
Michelle Dibos is the community engagement director at Eagle Valley Behavioral Health, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vail Health.
