COLUMBUS, Ohio – A colorful bus pulled onto the Columbus State Community College campus Tuesday, the latest stop on a campaign to encourage college students to sign up for health plans through the new insurance marketplace by the March 31 deadline.
The 30-passenger “Countdown to Get Covered” bus is touring Ohio and Texas over 10 days, ending in Cleveland Wednesday. The bus stopped in Dayton prior to visiting Columbus.
Free in-person enrollment assistance and one-on-one educational help is being provided.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown used a stop Tuesday at Columbus State Community College to urge young adults to sign up. Most Ohioans signing up are older.
Recent federal data show close to 79,000 Ohioans have picked health plans through the marketplace created by President Barack Obama’s health care law.
That number falls far short of the 152,000 Ohioans the government projected would be enrolled by the end of February and the more than 193,000 Ohioans deemed eligible.