HUGO, OK -- Under a new law, every person in the United States will soon be required to have health care coverage.

One method they plan to do that is now underway. Part of this will be accomplished online, but millions are being spent to help enroll people in health plans face to face. We spoke to two agencies now gearing up for a year-long push that starts in just a few weeks.

Several "navigators" are being hired and trained to help Texoma's uninsured sign up for health care.

"Whether you are for Obamacare or not, it's here and it will affect a lot of people," says Little Dixie Community Action Agency executive director Brenda Needham.

The government awarded $67 million, some going to Fort Worth's local United Way and Hugo-based little Dixie.

Splitting their grants up with agencies like Community Council of Greater Dallas, Big Five, and INCA, they plan to have about 140 navigators total covering most of the two states.

"They all receive 20 hours online training and have to be certified by CMS - the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services," says Needham.

"The navigators' responsibility are going to be to educate, inform, and ultimately enroll people who are eligible to be enrolled under the Affordable Care Act," says United Way of Tarrant County president/CEO Tim McKinney.

According to numbers the government provided to Little Dixie, there are more than 600,000 uninsured people under age 65 in all of Oklahoma and nearly five million in Texas. But soon, all that is supposed to change.

"They will have to pay for the insurance, but there are subsidies available. The open enrollment period is October 1 through March 31," says Needham.

Excerpt from:

Health Care "Navigators" To Push New Mandate In Texoma