SFD assisting with new health insurance enrollment

Contributed Article

    Sebasticook Family Doctors (SFD) is a federally-qualified health center and a safety net for people who are uninsured or underinsured. With locations in Canaan, Dexter, Dover-Foxcroft, Newport and Pittsfield, there is a convenient location for everyone in the region. And everyone is welcome, regardless of their ability to pay.

Contributed photo

    HELPING HAND — Alexis Winslow, a certified marketplace counselor at Sebasticook Family Doctors, is shown helping a client obtain health insurance coverage.

    SFD offers medical, dental, behavioral health, sliding-fee scale and a prescription assistance program. Last year SFD saved patients more than $800,000 through the prescription assistance program, and provided hundreds of dental hygiene visits and flu shots to children in local schools.
    SFD has also been enrolling people in the health insurance marketplace in each of its five locations with inspiring success, offering open houses and expanded hours.
    “We have embraced the marketplace and are doing everything we can to encourage people to enroll,” said Robin Winslow, CEO of Sebasticook Family Doctors. “The staff is working extremely hard to need the needs of the people who come through our doors. And you don’t have to be a patient of ours. We will still help. It’s gratifying to me to see how truly excited my staff becomes when they find someone affordable insurance. I am so proud of them.”
    Recently, a certified application counselor re-enrolled a woman who has a part-time job, is single and has a fixed, limited income. She had enrolled last year in order to have a colonoscopy because she had been unable to afford the test before. It was discovered she needed major, probably lifesaving, surgery.
    “She was very thankful for her insurance and so grateful she could re-enroll this year,” said Winslow. “And her premiums dropped this time. Needless to say she is thrilled.”
    Another person who enrolled in the marketplace with an SFD specialist was able to find a plan that cut her deductible by more than 50 percent.A commercial plan she purchased last year, cost her about $400 a month in premiums with a $15,000 deductible. Consequently she didn’t get the care she really needed because of the cost.
    Now, with her new plan, she pays about the same premium, but her deductible dropped to $6,600. She also receives free preventative services, free care for her asthma and COPD, and has an out-of-pocket max that is lower than her previous deductible.
    “This woman also left our office extremely happy with the outcome,” said Winslow. “They are a shining example of why the marketplace is critical to the betterment and health of the individual and the community. These stories area just a sample of the work we do.”
    For more information call toll-free 1-866-364-1366 or visit www.sebasticookfamilydoctrs.
org.