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Enrollment Through Volunteering . By: Tobin Van Ostern, Advisor for Strategic Partnerships at Young Invincibles . Who We Are . YI formed during the health care reform debates of 2009 around the idea that young adults weren’t being adequately represented in the conversation
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Enrollment Through Volunteering By: Tobin Van Ostern, Advisor for Strategic Partnerships at Young Invincibles
Who We Are • YI formed during the health care reform debates of 2009 around the idea that young adults weren’t being adequately represented in the conversation • In addition to health care, we also advocate on behalf of young adults on the issues of higher education and jobs • We have offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.
Enrollment Through Teambuilding – CA Example • The Healthy Young America Project uses the basic model of community organizing to engage and ultimately enroll young adults and their families into the new health options made available under the ACA • YI organizers are working to build 9 teams (split between LA and San Francisco), each with 1-2 team leaders and 9 members • While team leads are paid a stipend for their work to recruit members of their team, all other members are dedicated volunteers • By the end of January, LA and San Francisco have goals of having at least 40 and 8 volunteers respectively
Enrollment Through Teambuilding – Timeline and Goals • Towards the end of last summer, YI’s California Organizing team set out rigorous and detailed goals for itself to achieve over the course of the open enrollment period. While the first half of the OEP was spent building teams, the second half is dedicated to helping the teams engage and educate the general public. • October • Enrollment kickoff event held • Each city was split into regions by organizer • YI organizers customized outreach materials and strategy for volunteers • Organized 5 back-to-school events at local colleges
Enrollment Through Teambuilding – Timeline and Goals • November • Identified and confirmed 2-3 colleges and 2-3 community based organizations in each region to reach out to for volunteers • Researched and connected with SGA’s, health centers, Student Life, residence life departments and other student groups • Conducted ACA trainings, tabling events or focus group bi-weekly • December • Identified and confirmed5-10 young adult leaders in LA (at least 1 per region) • Identified and confirmed 2 young adult leaders in the SF Bay Area • Before the end of the month, organizers ensured each team was adequately trained on the ACA and outreach strategies. They worked with teams to form individual outreach strategies to reach the public at-large. They started communications prep, so that teams could interact with the media in the spring
Enrollment Through Teambuilding – Timeline and Goals • January-March • Launch HYA Education and Enrollment campaign • YI Communications Coordinator starts pitching reporters with stories about successes of teams reaching other young adults and educating them about the ACA • Each team will organize at least 2-3 trainings/activities on their own per month with the goal of facilitating enrollment among the general public. Referrals will be made to key partners/navigators • Have 5 positive media stories written each month about the teams • Distribute, and collect pledge forms to 1) Download the YI mobile app; 2) Visit a health care provider once covered.
Public-Private Partnerships • YI has an expertise in the area of young adult health care and aims to use partnerships to expand its impact to a broader audience • YI has collaborated with several different entities to reach out to young adults • We are working at the state and local level, as well as with businesses, to build off of broader efforts that are being made to educate and enroll the public
Washington State • To ensure that young people are being reached on platforms that they use and in messages they can relate to, YI is working directly with the state exchange and its marketing firm, GMMB, to reach young adults • We worked with the state exchange to develop a state-specific mobile application that: finds local doctors/clinics, answers frequently asked questions about health care, has a mobile friendly version of the Kaiser Family Foundation subsidy calculator, and direct links to the Washington HealthPlanFinder
Other Examples • YI is working with local governments, including Memphis and San Francisco, to incorporate youth specific outreach into broader efforts to educate and enroll the public • We are working with WebMD to highlight our youth specific FAQs to increase their reach to their large audience • YI plans to expand its “train the trainer” model, where our organizers train local individuals on the ACA who are influential among young people so that they can share their knowledge with their community
Contact • www.YoungInvincibles.org • Twitter: @YI_Care@TobinVanOstern • Email: tobin.vanostern@younginvincibles.org