Mo., Ill. health officials prepare for health care deadline

Missouri and Illinois health officials are putting forward their plans to gather last-minute sign-ups ahead of the Feb. 15 health insurance enrollment deadline. In a conference call with reporters yesterday, officials from both states laid out details of how they will reach consumers and have them enroll for 2015 coverage on HealtCare.gov, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

In Missouri, health officials will begin to stress the reality of the tax penalty for not having health insurance during the enrollment home stretch. In 2015, the penalty for remaining uninsured will be $325 or 2 percent of a household’s income, whichever is greater. Among its efforts, the Cover Missouri Coalition is planning an awareness campaign with several events scheduled across the state on Jan. 24.

An executive with Get Covered Illinois said her organization would expand a direct mail campaign targeting rural residents across the state. A related effort last month hiked Web traffic to GetCoveredIllinois.gov by 250 percent in three hand-picked rural areas.

Read more from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.