Healthcare

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Cissy Sanders was scrambling last April to get information — to do something, anything, for her vulnerable mother living in a nursing home where COVID-19 was spreading.

The Biden administration is struggling to address a persistent racial disparity in the country’s coronavirus vaccination campaign that has seen White Americans receive a disproportionate share of shots, even in areas that have large minority populations.

As the United States surpasses half a million COVID-19 deaths and a third vaccine could start reaching states next week, lawmakers heard testimony on how the vaccine rollout has faltered.

With the virus surging, now is especially not the time to be without health insurance. Open Enrollment is the short period during which you can enroll in health insurance, choose your plan, or switch to a better plan. Open Enrollment is underway right now, but you have only until Dec. 15 to sign up. Make the top priority on your holiday shopping list buying yourself and your loved ones health security.

As coronavirus cases spike across the nation, San Antonio officials are sending out another, but just as important, public health message: Enroll in health insurance. Dec. 15 is the last day to choose a health plan on the federal health exchange known as healthcare.gov — a deadline many officials and experts believe will not be extended, despite the pandemic wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy and a strained health care system.

More than 18 percent of San Antonians under the age of 65 did not have health insurance as of last year, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. With the coronavirus pandemic ongoing, this means San Antonio families are more at risk for financial ruin should they get sick, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said during a press conference Tuesday to highlight local programs residents can utilize to help them sign up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Dec. 15 is the deadline for open enrollment.