$750,000 Education Grant Awarded to SBETA Under The Affordable Health Care Act
San Bernardino, May 14, 2013 — The San Bernardino Employment and Training Agency is among the first recipients in California to receive a grant from Covered California for the outreach and education of individuals and organizations about health care coverage options under The Affordable Health Care Act.
The grant of $750,000, was announced today by Peter V. Lee, Executive Director of Covered California, at a meeting held in Los Angeles. Lee stated that they searched for organizations to represent the broad mix of the population in California. Between now, and the end of open enrollment for health care, under the Affordable Health Care Act, these organizations are going to touch over nine million Californians including 200,000 small businesses.
Robert K. Ross, M.D., Board Member of Covered California pointed out, “We are witnessing the transition of a health care law that has been owned by WashingtonD.C., the president and the congress, and is now our program, belonging to California.” He explained further that the strategy will be that many uninsured Californians, who need healthcare insurance, are going to be able to use a high tech approach to signing up, via the Covered California website www.Covered.ca.gov, or have a “high-touch” approach if they need help filling out forms and making decisions about health coverage and the plans that are best for them. He pointed out that this is a big change that is happening fast. Enrollment begins January 1, 2014, so it is important for information to be delivered quickly to those who are uninsured or under-insured.
The Covered California grant is one of the largest single grants awarded to SBETA, and will be used to provide training to individuals and organizations on affordable health care coverage options.
“This will enable us to reach out to the culturally diverse populations, that we serve in the San Bernardino area, with relevant information about the new health care options available,” stated Ernest Dowdy, Director of SBETA. “The people we serve face significant challenges: many have never had health insurance, or don’t speak English very well, or have lost health insurance coverage when they lost their jobs, or work at jobs that don’t provide insurance. These are the people who need to learn about the great opportunity they will have once enrollment opens in the fall.”
Rialto Unified School District, and other city school districts in San Bernardino County, will be collaborating with SBETA to inform students, parents and partner agencies about healthcare enrollment.
ABOUT SBETA
The San Bernardino Employment and Training Agency is a federally funded program operating under the Workforce Investment Act. The organization is dedicated to assisting the businesses and job seekers of San Bernardino. They are a recognized innovator in helping small business.
SBETA provides personalized business consulting services that focus on the needs of each organization. The City of San Bernardino Workforce Investment Board (WIB) oversees the agency. The WIB has long been concerned about business health, and focuses on providing long-term business growth through a well trained workforce.
SBETA is an equal opportunity employer/program and auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.