ACA navigator groups left hanging on grants
The groups that help people sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act are left wondering when or if they will get funding from the federal government to continue their work this year.
According to a report in The Hill, navigators — groups that help people locally to understand and sign up for coverage under the ACA — usually hear from the federal government in April or May about how much money could be awarded in grants, when the deadlines will be, and when funds might be expected to be awarded.
Most navigator groups are state and local nonprofits, such as community health groups and hospitals, the report says. The navigator program receives federal funds in the 34 states that use the federal marketplace, healthcare.gov.
This year, however, numerous groups have not heard from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services about deadlines or grant details, according to the report. In previous years, they were given about 60 days to apply, but the lack of information this year makes it tough for them to make arrangements for the approaching open enrollment period for health insurance—particularly since current grants expire September 12.
Open enrollment begins November 1, but that doesn’t allow time for hiring and training of staff and planning and scheduling of outreach events within the communities served.
Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, is quoted as saying, “You can’t just put the money on the street October 15 and expect these programs will complete everything they need to do to be operational when open enrollment starts.”
The report also says that when asked about navigator grants, the Department of Health and Human Services e-mailed The Hill that it had no “details to share at this time.” HHS, which usually has 60 days to review applications, has previously characterized the signup program as “ineffective” and last year cut its budget; new and lower funding levels are based on how well navigators managed to meet previous enrollment goals.
The budget cut totaled 41 percent and was announced just prior to the beginning of the new grant period in September. “The groups had been anticipating level funding and were caught off guard when the total pot was reduced from $62.5 million to $36.8 million,” says the report.
Requirements for the next open enrollment season have also been changed by the Trump administration. For starters, it no longer requires a minimum of two navigator groups per state. It also no longer requires that at least one of those groups be a community based, consumer-focused nonprofit or that any group must have a physical presence in the state.
Catherine Edwards, executive director for the Missouri Association of Area Agencies on Aging, is quoted saying in the report, “We know this administration is not friendly to the ACA, and so they have no incentive to involve community-based groups in enrolling people.”
Also read: 3 provisions in the latest ACA parameters that agents and brokers should know
While the administration claims its actions are aimed at providing more flexibility and cutting costs for nonworking programs, Democrats have a different take on the matter, accusing the White House of “ObamaCare sabotage.” According to the report, Dems say the Trump administration is “deliberately trying to hurt the law after Republicans failed to repeal and replace it last year — cutting navigator funds, repealing the individual mandate and expanding access to plans that are cheaper but cover fewer benefits, potentially raising premiums in more comprehensive plans.”