The following information was submitted by Britni Hartman, Director, Schmaling Memorial Public Library District.
You may have noticed a lot of information swirling around about the Affordable Care Act, sometimes known as ObamaCare. There have been many vague references in the media to libraries being “hubs” for access to the new Health Insurance Marketplace, a shopping center for health insurance plans.
A simple explanation of what this means is that libraries will be places where individuals without internet access through other means will be able to access the forms to enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Staff at Schmaling Memorial Public Library, 501 10th Avenue, Fulton, IL, may assist users in
- gaining access to the website
- printing out a paper copy of the enrollment form for a fee of 25 cents per page
- looking up the phone number for a toll-free hotline, for those who wish to enroll over the phone.
Library staff cannot give
- any assistance with filling out the enrollment form
- recommendations on health insurance providers.
If you wish to use the Schmaling computers and believe you will need assistance, please bring a friend or family member who is familiar with the internet with you to assist.
You will need the following information with you to fill out the enrollment form.
- Social Security Number (or document number for legal immigrants) for each member of your household needing coverage
- Employer and income information for each member of your household needing coverage. (This information is commonly found on pay stubs or W-2 forms.)
- Policy numbers for current health insurance plans which cover any members of your household.
- A completed Employer Coverage Tool for every job-based plan you or someone in your household is eligible for. (This form is available at the library upon request or on healthcare.gov.)
The library asks that you have all this information on hand before you begin filling out the enrollment form online.
Schmaling Memorial Public Library has five public access computers that may be used to access the Health Insurance Marketplace website. To be eligible to use the internet at the Schmaling Library, users must present one of the following:
- a valid Schmaling Library card in good standing
- a valid library card from another library within the RAILS library system or from the Albany Public Library
- a valid photo ID to use the internet as a one-time guest user.
All internet users are required to sign a copy of the library’s Internet Usage Policy/Agreement. If you do not currently hold a Schmaling Library card and would like to find out if you are eligible to receive one, bring a photo ID along with an item that has your current address. For example, bring us a Driver’s License, recent bill or statement, lease agreement, deed, etc. The staff will verify that you are a Fulton resident. If you are not a resident of the City of Fulton, but own property within the Fulton city limits, please bring in your tax papers along with a photo ID, so that the staff may verify that you are paying library taxes.
Those who live outside the Fulton city limits–but within Fulton’s half of the River Bend School District–are eligible to receive a non-resident Schmaling Library card at a fee of $51 per year, per household.