Insurance questions answered via zoom

Alexis Barker
NLJ News Editor
 
With the hopes of helping patients better understand their health insurance coverage, JoAnn Farnsworth, quality director at Weston County Health Services, said the facility will use Zoom to host a virtual question and answer session on at least two different occasions. 
“It will be the 411 on health insurance. We plan on doing a rolling question and answer, discussing any topic that might come up,” Farnsworth said. “We will then be putting the questions that were asked and the answers we shared on the Facebook page.” 
Health insurance, according to Farnsworth, has changed dramatically over the past 20 to 30 years, making it hard for people to navigate hospital bills and insurance coverage. 
“We get a lot of calls with patients not understanding what a bill is for, why it wasn’t covered, the way their copays work and what the deductible is and how that works,” Farnsworth said. “We just want to help people understand what they need to know about what they are getting.” 
The sessions will feature several billers from the facility’s financial office, as well as Farnsworth, answering questions and explaining everything from shopping for health insurance to getting the most out of your insurance with the least cost to you. 
“Health insurance and the ins and outs of it are overwhelming for those who work with it every day, I can’t imagine what the patients go through trying to navigate what they are responsible for and why,” Farnsworth said. 
Farnsworth said that the hospital will host two separate sessions, one on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. and the other on Sept. 14 at noon. If the virtual sessions are well attended and there is a need for additional Zoom meetings, those will be scheduled at a later date, she said. 
Anyone interested in attending the virtual meeting should call executive assistant Denice Pisciotti at 746-3755.