MARSHALL COUNTY — More than 13,000 people in Marshall and St. Joseph and are living without health insurance coverage, forcing many to live in fear of getting sick, or to forgo medical and preventive care to address current illnesses.

Organizations including Covering Kids and Families and its lead agency, United Health Services, and others have sounded the alarm on the crisis, and are taking action to address the epidemic of uninsured in their part of northern Indiana.

This new initiative, called “Coverage to Care,” is led by the St. Joseph County Public Health Department.

Locations throughout Marshall and St. Joseph counties will be open on 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 9 and 10, to answer questions about health coverage and to help residents enroll. The sites will each have trained and certified Navigation assistants available to help. These assistants are non-biased in their advice; they cannot sell any products. Their job is to help residents identify and, if needed, apply for health coverage.

Locations in Marshall County include: Health Insurance Services, 510 W. Adams Street, Suite 100, Plymouth, Marshall County Community Resource Center and Bowen Center, 990 Illinois St., Plymouth.

For a list of all locations click here.

Coalition partners participating are Beacon Medical Group, HealthLinc, Heart City Health Center, Indiana Health Centers, the St. Joseph County Health Department and St. Joseph Health System. Insurance providers participating are Anthem, CareSource, MDWise and MHS.

“Many of our families have either had very little, if any, experience with the healthcare system, or they have just given up,” said Jim Baxter, director of Covering Kids and Families of Northern Indiana. Options like the Affordable Healthcare Act Marketplace and the new Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP 2.0) are significant options to help lower the crisis level of uninsured.

“Nearly all residents qualify for some form of insurance either from the Marketplace or Healthy Indiana Plan 2.0. Even if folks have been turned down in the past, they probably still quality,” Baxter continued. “This is quality insurance designed to improve the lives of Marshall and St. Joseph county residents. The goal of the coalition remains 100 percent coverage, but this will take time.”

Baxter adds, “Cost is the biggest fear most uninsured face.” For good reason, he explains: nearly 8 in 10 uninsured individuals have less than $1,000 in savings and about half have less than $100. “And while hospitals and clinics are a significant intake avenue for the uninsured, we know we’re just scratching the surface. We have to go to them; we have to meet them wherever they are in life, and make them aware that health insurance coverage can be an affordable and available reality for them.” That is the purpose of the Jan. 9 event.