Sign Up for Health Insurance Saturday with the Help of TUSD, Pima County


If you find yourself doing things last minute more often than not, and forgot that if you don't have health insurance, you have to sign up by Feb. 15, keep reading.

Tucson Unified  School District and the Pima County Health Department are going to help people sign up for health insurance Saturday, Feb. 7 at Tucson High Magnet School. They will also provide free flu shots and measles, mumps and rubella vaccination for kids 17 and younger and adults without coverage. (If you believe in vaccines, definitely take advantage of this, especially nowadays that everyone is freaking out about the measles outbreak.)

Reps from the Pima County Enrollment Coalition will be there to help you explore the insurance options and find a plan that best fits you. 

This enrollment period, there are 13 health insurance providers, among them the country's largest United Healthcare. More options help keep the premium cost down. Last period, there were 10 providers to choose from.

The deadline to sign up for a health plan through the Affordable Care Act without having to deal with tax penalties is next Sunday (Feb. 15). If you don't apply, the next enrollment period is later this year, but coverage won't start until 2016.

The city of Tucson also partnered with local health organizations, such as El Rio Community Health Center, for various events where people could get help signing up

Pima County would like to reward you if you get covered, too. All of those who attend qualify to win an iPad.

Also, there will be food trucks, mobile health units, TUSD student performances and many more services. 

The event is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and, if you can, bring your child's immunization record if you plan to get them vaccinated that day.

The next enrollment help event, according to the county's calendar, is Feb. 14 at Tucson Medical Center's El Dorado Campus, 1400 N. Wilmot Rd., from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. You'd be really pushing it at that point.

Here is a helpful guide courtesy of Pima County.