The open enrollment period to file an application for health insurance is coming to a close on February 15.

The Chapel Hill public library is offering assistance to those who are looking for help navigating the path to sign up for health care.

Shannon Bailey, the library’s Reference Librarian, says enrollment sessions are scheduled throughout the next week, leading up to an all-day sign up event on Friday.

“Anybody can come in and meet with a certified application counselor in our library computer lab,” she says. “And on Friday, Feb. 13, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. we will be hosting an all-day enrollment session.”

Leading up to Friday, Bailey says they will have sessions on Saturday, Feb. 7, from 1-4 in the afternoon, Monday evening from 5-8, and Tuesday afternoon from 2-5.

She adds they have picked Friday for their all-day session, even though the enrollment deadline is Sunday.

“We cannot predict, obviously, what the website is going to do this year,” she says. “We did learn from experience last year that the day before and the day of the site gets overloaded.”

Bailey says there are some things you will need to bring to sign up for coverage.

“In order to enroll, they will need their social security number – for themselves and everyone in their household that needs coverage,” she says. “They will need employer and income information for everyone in their household; that can take the form of W-2’s, wage statements, tax statements, [or] pay stubs.”

Bailey adds if you currently have any health coverage, you will need those policy numbers. And if you are eligible for health insurance from your employer, you will need to fill out a waiver on healthcare.gov.

Bailey says it takes a lot of teamwork to make this assistance possible.

“All of our certified application counselors are from UNC Healthcare, the League of Women Voters of Orange-Durham-Chatham, Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, and UNC’s Student Health Action Coalition,” she says.

You can call ahead to reserve a time during the enrollment session; walk-ins are also welcome.

This is the second year of open enrollment since the Affordable Care Act was put into place. The law provides subsidies to those who need assistance in paying for health coverage, and it makes having health care a requirement by law. Those who are not covered are subject to a fine.

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