Mina Schultz is an outreach specialist at GetCoveredNYC, a city initiative to connect New Yorkers to health insurance coverage. As part of Human Resources Administration’s Public Engagement Unit, GetCoveredNYC provides community outreach to educate New Yorkers about available health insurance options, and to improve health insurance literacy.
Prior to her work at GetCoveredNYC, Mina was a Certified Application Counselor at a Federally-Qualified Health Center in rural north-central West Virginia. Here, she helped consumers navigate the enrollment process and troubleshoot applications for Medicaid and Qualified Health Plans. While working this position, Mina also received her insurance through the Federally-Facilitated Marketplace, giving her a unique perspective as a patient, a consumer, and a professional with experience observing and using the benefits (and experiencing the drawbacks) of the Affordable Care Act.
Mina’s interest in health policy and advocacy stems from her personal interaction with the health care system. In 2011, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer, for which she received a brutal chemotherapy regimen and several surgeries. Upon completion of treatment, she changed careers from language teacher to public health educator. Her background in teaching foreign language makes her an effective communicator in the challenging field of health insurance literacy education.
Besides working in outreach and enrollment, she has spent her free time advocating for health reform through interaction with policymakers (Senator Joe Manchin, Congressman David McKinley, former Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney), the press (The Washington Post, BBC, Glamour Magazine, Der Spiegel ), and local activism groups. She has met with 30 Senate offices to discuss patient access to care. In West Virginia, she was a steering committee member of Marion County for Progress, and is currently a board member of ACA Consumer Advocacy.
Mina completed her Bachelor’s degree in French and International Studies at Pennsylvania State University, during which time she also completed a year abroad in Montpellier, France. She went on to teach English to high school and vocational students in Le Mans, France, while working summers on a ranch in Montana. She holds a Master of Arts degree in French and Foreign Language Teaching from the University of Missouri, where she also taught French I and II. Following treatment for cancer, Mina returned to school to complete a Master of Public Health from George Washington University, writing her capstone project on Medicaid Buy-In.