By Richard Cauchi
In 34 states, health insurance marketplaces operate using the HealthCare.gov website.
On Sept. 6, these locat
ions were awarded $63 million in marketplace navigator grants to both new and returning state and local health organizations.
The funding, distributed from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will support local in-person assistance to help consumers navigate, shop and enroll in health insurance plans sold through public exchanges. Ninety-six returning organizations and two new organizations in Hawaii received grant awards.
Funding is released in 12-month increments as CMS “continually assesses Navigator grantees' performance for ongoing support.” Funding goes to the employer of the navigators, usually assigned by county.
As examples, agencies in Alabama are receiving $1.3 million; Indiana gets $1.6 million; Louisiana payments total $1.5 million. Similar funding for the 16 State-Based Marketplaces is decided and distributed by the individual states or exchange boards. For the full list of navigator awardees, visit Recipients of 2016 Navigator Awards by State.
Consumer sales of health insurance for the fourth year of exchanges in all 50 states begins on Nov. 1, 2016, and closes Jan. 31, 2017.
A recent report by The Commonwealth Fund, "Factors Affecting Health Insurance Enrollment,” concluded that the cost of coverage and low health insurance literacy “pose significant barriers to enrollment for many consumers. Marketplaces sought to overcome them by encouraging consumers to obtain in-person enrollment assistance from ACA-created assistance programs and from insurance brokers, and by partnering with community organizations for outreach activities.”
For background on state decisions about exchanges, and the track record for the first three years, visit NCSL’s State Actions to Address Health Insurance Exchanges, a report on state activities 2010-2016.
Richard Cauchi is a program director in NCSL’s Health Program.
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