Seasons greetings! We've sent out a few more newsletters recently because we want to remind people about important open enrollment deadlines for the health insurance marketplace.

We are less than a week away from Friday, Dec. 15, which is the deadline to get health coverage that starts on Jan. 1, 2024. A little over a month after that is deadline to finish open enrollment. You have until 5 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 17, to enroll, but from a practical standpoint, this means you need to start before Tuesday, Jan. 16, if not even earlier. Those who enroll by the final deadline will see their coverage start on Feb. 2, 2024.

So far this season, more than 7 million people have selected a marketplace health plan for 2024, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Free help is available from Enroll Wyoming to review options and enroll in quality coverage. Just visit enrollwyo.org or call 211 to make an in-person, virtual, or telephone appointment.

We are asking partners and individuals to help spread the word by sharing informational materials through social media and newsletters. Find additional resources here.

We here at Enroll Wyoming want to wish you and your loved ones happy holidays! We also want to make sure you stay safe this holiday season. The National Safety Council has lots of great tips for staying safe. Be sure to check out the full page, but here are a few highlights:

-- Only drive if you 100 percent sober, awake, and road conditions are safe. Christmas and News Year's Day have high rates of fatal car crashes.

-- Trees are a fun part of holiday decorations! Double check any fake trees to ensure it is fire resistant and make sure to keep real trees well-watered, so they don’t dry out and become flammable.

-- When you’re not roasting chestnuts on an open fire, be sure to keep a screen in front of the fireplace and extinguish the fire before bed.

-- If the tiny tots are getting scooters, bikes, skateboards, etc. this year, proper safety equipment like helmets and knee pads should also be gifted. For an additional source to protect children, see the Safe Kids page.

As online shopping becomes increasingly common, especially for holiday shopping, beware of potential scams! A common scam involves the advertisement of deals that are “too good to be true” and can come in the forms of emails, texts, social media, or surveys that offer unrealistic deals on name brand items.

Likewise, if you are selling items online, watch out for buyers who want you to ship before they pay, request refunds without returns, and/or use different names when ordering and paying for the merchandise.

Giving to charities during the holidays can be a great thing! Just make sure to do research on the organization to which you are donating to ensure they are reputable.

For more information on these scams and how to protect yourself, read this article published by the FBI. 

-- Enroll Wyoming will be at the Sheridan County Fulmer Public Library on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Jan. 15. Call 307-461-9099 for an appointment.

-- Enroll Wyoming will be open for office hours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12, and Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Campbell County Public Library on 2101 South 4-J Road in Gillette.

-- Watch the next Enroll Wyoming update video at 2 p.m. on Thursday, December 28. Watch for December's video on Facebook or YouTube. For an idea of what to expect, watch our November video.

-- Enroll Wyoming and the Wyoming Primary Care Association will host an open enrollment debrief from 1-3:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, online. See our event resource page for more information.

Click the graphic below for more community and partner events

Click HERE for Enroll Wyoming job listings.