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ACA Enrollment Effort Turns to Young Adults as Deadline Nears

Regional U.S. Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Falk speaks at Greater Cleveland United Way Thursday,
Regional U.S. Health and Human Services Director Kathleen Falk speaks at Greater Cleveland United Way Thursday,

Signing up for health insurance isn’t top of mind for most young people – many don’t think they need it. The federal government is trying to change that, and deemed January 29th “National Youth Enrollment Day.”

It’s also trying to make health insurance more accessible – and perhaps a little sexier. How? You guessed it: this year, there’s an app for that.

"Young people really are good at navigating their smart phones," said Kathleen Falk, regional director for U.S. Health and Human Services, who spoke at Cleveland’s United Way headquarters.

"We know that they’re more likely to choose that route than to sit down with an assister for an appointment," she said.

Falk clarified they’re more likely to turn to the web in general - she couldn’t say whether insurance shopping via smartphone is finding the same popularity yet as, say, ordering takeout.

About 24,000 Cuyahoga County residents have enrolled since November. Nonprofit Enroll America says 52,000 have signed up in the six-county region.