NY State of Health Launches Statewide Mall Tour Offering On-site Enrollment Opportunities at Each Stop

Sign Up NY Mall Tour will feature return of Marvel Super Heroes

ALBANY, N.Y. (November 20, 2015) - NY State of Health today announced the launch of the second statewide Sign Up NY tour, aimed at educating New Yorkers about affordable health insurance options. New this year, New Yorkers will be able to enroll in a health plan at each tour stop.

"Sign Up NY helps us make New Yorkers aware of the affordable health coverage options available through the Marketplace," said Donna Frescatore, NY State of Health Executive Director. "Onsite enrollment in private, dedicated areas of the malls is new for this year and is in response to feedback from consumers and our assistors."

The Sign Up NY tour kicks off Friday, November 20th at Colonie Center in Albany and Queens Center Mall in New York City and continues in January at six additional locations including: Buffalo, Long Island, the Bronx, Rochester, Poughkeepsie, and Syracuse.

In 2014, the first year of the tour, NYSOH was present in 12 shopping centers across New York over the course of 7 weekends. More than 60,000 pieces of NYSOH material was distributed to consumers, and the Marketplace was able to reach over 20 million people through news stories.

Many New Yorkers have been surprised to learn that health insurance obtained through the NY State of Health marketplace is affordable. Many New Yorkers are eligible for financial assistance to lower the cost of Qualified Health Plan coverage, and in many areas of the state, the average value of this assistance has increased in 2016 as compared with 2015. In addition, New York has introduced the new Essential Plan this year, which offers comprehensive benefits to lower-income New Yorkers for $20 or less per month. The theme of this year's tour is "You'd be Surprised," how easy it is to get a low cost health plan, with pop-up surprise themed elements at each tour stop.

At the Sign Up NY mall events, consumers will be able to:

  • Get information about the Marketplace
  • Learn about financial assistance that may be available
  • Make appointments with in-person assistors
  • Enroll in a health plan
  • Meet Marvel Super Heroes (on select dates)
  • Spin the Wheel of Surprise: answer a question about the Marketplace and win a small prize

To sign up onsite, consumers need to bring the following information for each member of the family:

  • Birth dates
  • Social security numbers or document numbers
  • Employment, income and health insurance information

Marvel Super Heroes will also return as special guests to the tour. Select Marvel Super Heroes will be on hand at each tour stop on Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. to help encourage New Yorkers to stop by the booth for more information.

Sign Up NY booths will be open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays on the following dates and locations:

Colonie Center: 131 Colonie Center, Albany, NY 12205; near Boscov's (1st Floor)

  • Dates: November 20-22
  • Marvel Super Hero Spiderman Appearance: November 21, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
    *NYSOH will be available for interviews, Friday 2:00pm-6:30pm.; Saturday 12:00noon-3:00pm; Sunday 12:00noon-3:00pm

Queens Center: 90-15 Queens Boulevard, Elmhurst, N.Y. 11373; near Sephora (Level 2)

  • Dates: November 20-22
  • Marvel Super Hero Captain America Appearance: November 21, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
    *NYSOH will be available for interviews, Friday 2:00pm-6:00pm; Saturday; 12:00noon- 3:00pm

Walden Galleria: 1 Walden Galleria Drive, Buffalo, NY 14225; near Apple and Clarks (Level 1)

  • Dates: January 8-10, 2016
  • Marvel Super Hero Spiderman Appearance: January 9, 2016

Green Acres Mall: 2034 West Circle Drive, Valley Stream, NY 11581; in front of JC Penney (Level 1)

  • Dates: January 8–10
  • Marvel Super Hero Captain America Appearance: January 9, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The Mall at Bay Plaza: 200 Baychester Avenue, Bronx, New York 10475;

  • Dates: January 15-17
  • Marvel Super Hero Captain America Appearance: January 16, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The Mall at Greece Ridge:271 Greece Ridge Drive, Rochester, NY 14626; near Best Buy Mobile and Charlotte Russe

  • Dates: January 15-17
  • Marvel Super Hero Spiderman Appearance: January 16, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Poughkeepsie Galleria:2001 South Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601; near DSW and Famous Footwear (Level 1)

  • Dates: January 22-24
  • Marvel Super Hero Captain America Appearance: January 23, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m

Destiny USA:9090 Carousel Center, Syracuse, NY 13290; near Texas de Brazil & Dick's Sporting Goods (Level 1)

  • Dates: January 22-24
  • Marvel Super Hero Spiderman Appearance: January 23, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information about these and other events visit: http://info.nystateofhealth.ny.gov/events.

About NY State of Health

New York opened its Health Plan Marketplace, NY State of Health, in October 2013. The Marketplace's one stop health insurance shopping experience offers high quality comprehensive health plans. NY State of Health is the only place where consumers can qualify to get help paying for coverage through premium discounts or tax credits. Eligible New Yorkers can also enroll in Medicaid, Child Health Plus and the Essential Plan through the Marketplace all year. For more information about the NY State of Health Marketplace, please visit: https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/ or call Customer Service at 1-855-355-5777, TTY: 1.800.662.1220 or find an enrollment assistor.

About Marvel Entertainment

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing. For more information visit http://www.marvel.com/. © 2015 MARVEL