Thousands Pack Fresno County Health and Financial Fair

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Thousands of Valley residents packed the Fresno Fairgrounds on Saturday for a chance to get free health and financial services.

Organizers say 10,000 people in Fresno County attended this year and many got a chance to find out more about the Affordable Care Act which rolls out next year.

The annual event, We Connect, hosted by The California Endowment and Building Healthy Communities is a resources fair that links low income families with health experts. "A lot of people in Fresno County don't have insurance or they may qualify for insurance and they haven't signed up for insurance," said Dr. Edward Moreno with Fresno County's Department of Health.

Saturday's fair connected people with low-cost or no-cost health coverage programs like Medi-Cal. The event also had doctors, dentists and nurses on hand for on-set examinations. But for the first time this year  people through the Valley also got a chance to learn about the Affordable Care Act which kicks off in 2014. "The law is changing and with the Affordable Care Act, come January 1, 2014 everybody is going to have healthcare and that means whether you're poor or wealthy you are going to have healthcare and there are opportunities to get everybody healthcare," said Sarah Reyes with The California Endowment.

Organizers believe many here haven't seen a doctor in years and a number of them are undocumented immigrants. Immigration attorneys say for those without the proper paperwork, this one-stop shop is so important Tax experts were also on hand at Saturday's fair.

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