Health

Customers browsing at the Health Information Neighborhood discover pamphlets, booklets and handouts freely provided by a variety of national and community health partners.

Locate pamphlets and access the digital handouts from these organizations:

• National Institute on Aging
  The Leader in Aging Research with What’s on Your Plate? and Caring for Someone with Alzheimer’s
• National Cancer Institute Publications Locator
• NIMH: National Institute of Mental Health
• NINDS: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke with Understanding Sleep and Headache: Hope Through Research
• CDC-INFO on Demand with Parents Guide to Childhood Immunizations
• Parkinson’s Disease Foundation
• Cancer Support Community with the “Frankly Speaking” cancer series
• National Library of Medicine – National Institutes of Health with NIH Medline Plus magazine

Use information resources to better understand health care and health insurance options and connect with local assistance in navigating complex decisions.

Health Insurance

Kansas Insurance Department
Includes health, medicare and long-term care insurance information from the state agency that regulates, licenses, educates and assists with all insurance companies and consumers in Kansas.

Health Insurance Marketplace
Find updates on the federal Health Insurance Marketplace.

KanCare
Answers consumer questions about KanCare, the Medicaid option for Kansas,  including choosing a health plan, and applying for KanCare coverage.

Long-Term Care Insurance

Kansas Partnership for Long-Term Care
Informs Kansas consumers of the benefits of protecting their assets if they ever need to apply for Medicaid services.

Long-Term Care: Costs & How to Pay
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offers starting points for those needing long-term care.

Healthcare and Medical Decisions

Medical Decision Forms
Kansas-specific medical decision forms including treating minors who are injured, advance directives, living wills, power of attorney, Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), and more. Options are available in both English and Spanish.

Choosing a Doctor or Health Care Service
We all want high-quality health care, but it’s hard to know how to choose. There are many things to consider, including what your insurance covers, whether a health care provider or service is accredited, the location of a service, hours that the service is available, whether you like a health care provider’s personality.

2021 important dates & deadlines

• You can enroll in or change 2022 Marketplace health insurance right now.
• The 2022 Open Enrollment Period runs from Monday, November 1, 2021 through Saturday, January 15, 2022.
• Important: 2022 Open Enrollment ends January 15
• If you don’t act by January 15, 2022, you can’t get 2022 coverage unless you qualify for a Special Enrollment Period.
• Enroll by December 15, 2021 for coverage that starts January 1, 2022.

For other essential enrollment information, get a quick overview of the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Enrollment Assistance 24/7

• Get help. You can sign up 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at HealthCare.gov
• You can also sign up in Spanish at CuidadoDeSalud.gov.
• You can find local assistance by searching at “Find Local Help” at HealthCare.gov
• You can call 1-800-318-2596, any time, any hour, and a trained representative will help you enroll.

Enrollment Assistance: Cover Kansas

Cover Kansas‘ Affordable Care Act open enrollment navigators are now offering a new feature where virtual navigators can help any Kansan over the phone or secure video call to walk folks through plan selection, filling out the application, or just answering questions and defining confusing terms. These services are offered in Spanish too! This new feature breaks down barriers to accessing navigators, meaning that more people can have access to health insurance in 2022, which is really exciting. With additional subsidies and tax credits this year, more people are also qualified for financial assistance than ever before.

The ACA open enrollment deadline is Dec. 15 for coverage starting Jan. 1, 2022, or by Jan. 15, 2022, to get coverage starting in Feb. 2022.

Go to GetCoveredKansas.org or call toll-free: (866) 826-8375 to learn more!

Online Resources

• The Health Insurance Marketplace is the website for enrollment in a Qualified Health Plan; it also contains useful education and resource information.
• The Kansas Insurance Department offers frequently asked questions about the Affordable Healthcare Act

What is the library doing to help?

Library staff are not certified to assist customers in completing the application or enrollment process, but can provide technology assistance in using the library’s public computers and printers.

Browse the health bags by topic. Each bag includes several recommended books to help you learn more about the topic. We have health bags on 25 different topics including ADHD, pregnancy, hypertension, diabetes, sleep disorders and anxiety.

Try a kettle bell, weighted ball or resistance band before you buy one, or change up your exercise routine by checking out a fitness kit.

Monitor your blood pressure, weight and BMI using our digital scale and the Life Clinic Health Station presented by Stormont Vail Health. Knowing your personal health measurements is a starting place to take control of your health and it’s a great way to monitor your progress. The devices ar located in the Large Print area near the Customer Service Desk.

Search the library catalog using keywords for your diagnosis, disease or condition to find books, DVDs and digital downloads.

Use the library’s research databases for Health topics, particularly Health Source – Consumer Edition and Consumer Health Complete for personal health information.

For consumer health, begin your internet searching with MedlinePlus from the National Library of Medicine.

Millions of consumers get health information from books, magazines, TV or the Internet. Some of the information is reliable and up to date, some is not. How can you tell the good from the bad? Use the tips at Evaluating Health Information from MedlinePlus at the National Library of Medicine. We recommend that you evaluate all health information with care and discuss what you find with your doctor or licensed health professional before making changes involving your health.

• Shawnee County Health Department
• Stormont Vail
• Kansas Department of Health and Environment