Obtaining health care coverage is a concern of many Americans, especially for those who recently lost their job resulting in loss of health insurance. While there is no perfect solution, there are some health care programs out there that may help you.

COBRA Coverage:
If your employer continues to operate and offer a group plan, COBRA continuation coverage may be available. It may cost you more than when you were employed, but still likely to be cheaper than private insurance. Through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 certain individuals will be eligible for COBRA cover at a discounted rate. Click here to learn more.

Government Health Care Programs:
Medicaid or Medicare or call 1-800-MEDICARE; Florida State Children's Health Insurance Program and Cover Florida (an affordable health coverage available to uninsured Floridians through a comprehensive market-based strategy).

Public Health Departments:
While Public Health Departments do not replace primary care providers, they do provide some health services for free such as immunizations, smoking cessations programs and more. Click here to learn more about services provided at your local health department.


To help Pasco County residents explore health care options and services, the Pasco County Library System will be holding workshops at the library branches.

Check out the library's Calendar of Events or just show up at one of the workshops listed here:

Tuesday June 2, 2009- 6pm
Centennial Park Library
727.834.3204

Thursday June 11, 2009- 1pm
Hugh Embry Library
352.567.3576

Wednesday June 23, 2009- 2pm
New River Library
813.788.6375

Saturday July 18, 2009- 2pm
Regency Park Library
727.861.3049

Tuesday July 21, 2009- 6pm
Land O Lakes Library
813.929.1214

Wednesday July 29, 2009- 2pm
Hudson Library
727.861.3040

Wednesday August 12, 2009- 6pm
South Holiday Library
727.834.3331

Hope to see you there!

Hurricane season is upon us again! We tend to become lax when we have not recently been affected by a hurricane. But it only takes one hurricane to hit the Tampa Bay area for us to be impacted.

Local, state and the federal government have produced lists of how to prepare for a hurricane. Pasco County Office of Emergency Management website is loaded with information to help Pasco residents stay informed. Pasco County Library System maintains a Resident Information Center blog to keep you up to date on hurricane activities in Pasco County.

Pasco County's Office of Emergency Management is sponsoring a Hurricane Expo this Saturday, May 30th from 9am to 2pm at the New Port Richey Recreation Center, 6630 Van Buren Street New Port Richey. Channel 10 metorologist Jennifer Hill will be there at 11am. Join us for an informative and interesting day!

You can pick up a free hurricane guide at any Pasco County Library. Call 727-861-3040 for more information.

The conversion to digital television will occur on June 12th. If you don't currently pay for television (cable or satellite)you may want to do one of the following to ensure you will continue to receive a television signal:

-buy a digital to analog converter box- coupons are available
-buy a television with a built-in digital tuner
-subscribe to a pay television service such as cable or satellite

While these options cost money, the coupon will help offset all or part of the cost of the converter box.

You can find information about how to set up your converter box, what to look for when buying a television with a built-in digital tuner and more at dtv.gov

And of course you can always call or visit the public library and we will provide you with more information.

Pasco County received a federal grant to stabilize neighborhoods by purchasing and rehabilitating foreclosed and abandoned homes. These funds can be used to purchase two types of homes:

Foreclosed home - a foreclosed home is a home that has been sold by the County at a Foreclosure or Tax Deed Sale and is owned by the party who bought it at the sale.

Abandoned home - an abandoned home is a home that is in foreclosure or tax deed sale that no one has lived in for at least 90 days and there have been no mortgage payments for 90 days.

There are maximum income levels and the program is limited to certain areas of the County. You can obtain more details by clicking here.

Pasco County Community Development administers other housing programs such as the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG), State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP), Housing Preservation Grant (HPG), and Housing Finance Authority (HFA) funds.

To assist you on your goal of homeownership the County requires you to attend Home Buyer Education Classes. Click here to view the schedule of classes or call 1-877-854-1446 for more information.

The Pasco Opportunity Program-
Pasco County partners with not-for-profit agencies to acquire, develop, and rehabilitate properties to make homes available to home buyers. Many of the homes that they sell have special incentives for the purchasers, and home buyer assistance is always available with these homes.
View homes that are currently for sale