CHP Health Insurance Team Accepting Appointments for Open Enrollment Assistance

09:35AM / Tuesday, November 08, 2022Print Story | Email Story

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — It's time to renew health insurance coverage for 2023, and the Community Health Programs insurance team is available to help Berkshire region residents with updating their MA Health Connector insurance plan.

The Open Enrollment period runs Nov. 1, 2022-Jan. 23, 2023. Anyone wishing to make an appointment with a CHP Patient Navigator can call 413-854-2816 or email enrollment@chpberkshires.org. Appointments take place online or in person, and there is no cost.

Anyone can enroll or update their plan online with the MA Health Connector, but CHP's insurance team can often navigate this process more quickly and easily.

William Cruz, lead certified patient navigator at CHP said, "Don't ignore those letters from MA Health Connector, because health insurance is mandatory in Massachusetts. We are glad to help anyone regardless of whether they are a CHP patient, and our services are free."

Health Connector customers must report any income changes to maintain qualification for ACA insurance and for any available subsidies. But now is also the time to review existing coverage and make plan changes, enroll for the first time, or report any changes in your dependents or other family changes.

CHP Patient Navigators can also help make sure that eligible MA Health Connector customers don't miss out on expanded subsidies made available by the American Rescue Plan Act this year.

Clients seeking assistance are asked to bring proof of income to their appointment.

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A Thousand Flock to Designer Showcase Fundraiser at Cassilis Farm

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
06:08PM / Sunday, July 14, 2024

NEW MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — More than a thousand visitors toured the decked-out halls of Cassilis Farm last month in support of the affordable housing development.

Construct Inc. held its first Designer Showcase exhibition in the Gilded Age estate throughout June, showcasing over a dozen creatives' work through temporary room transformations themed to "Nature in the Berkshires." The event supported the nonprofit's effort to convert the property into 11 affordable housing units.

"Part of our real interest in doing this is it really gives folks a chance to have a different picture of what affordable housing can be," Construct's Executive Director Jane Ralph said.

"The stereotypes we all have in our minds are not what it ever really is and this is clearly something very different so it's a great opportunity to restore a house that means so much to so many in this community, and many of those folks have come, for another purpose that's really somewhat in line with some of the things it's been used for in the past."

"It can be done, and done well," Project Manager Nichole Dupont commented. She was repeatedly told that this was the highlight of the Berkshire summer and said that involved so many people from so many different sectors.

"The designers were exceptional to work with. They fully embraced the theme "Nature in the Berkshires" and brought their creative vision and so much hard work to the showhouse. As the rooms began to take shape in early April, I was floored by the detail, research, and vendor engagement that each brought to the table. The same can be said for the landscape artists and the local artists who displayed their work in the gallery space," she reported.

"Everyone's feedback throughout the process was invaluable, and they shared resources and elbow grease to put it together beautifully."

More than 100 volunteers helped the showcase come to fruition, and "the whole while, through the cold weather, the seemingly endless pivots, they never lost sight of what the showhouse was about and that Cassilis Farm would eventually be home to Berkshire workers and families."

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