Enrollment Assistance
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Proposed Navigator Standards Comments Due Today
Last call for comments on the HHS proposed navigator standards released last month. Comments are due by 5:00pm ET today, May 6th. The rules outline the conflict of interest and training standards that will apply to federally-funded navigators in 34 states and in-person assisters in states with state-based or consumer partnership exchanges. In addition to…
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HHS’s New Model Application – A Major Step Forward
By Jocelyn Guyer HHS released a new version of its model applications for health care coverage this morning. The new models represent a major step forward – they are much shorter, crisper and easier to fill out than the draft versions that were released in January of this year. The new model applications also are…
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CMS Offers Welcome News on Reimbursement Rates for Eligibility Activities and Related Customer Service
Beyond the fact that millions will gain more affordable coverage options in 2014, the availability of 90% federal funding for new or enhanced Medicaid eligibility systems is one of the most promising aspects of health reform. New systems offer so many advantages, and coupled with new requirements for electronic verification of eligibility, will transform the…
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Federal Navigator Funding Opportunity Announced
At long last, organizations can now apply for federal navigator funding in 33 states where the federal government will run the Health Insurance Marketplace or there is a State Partnership Exchange. The program will fund a total of $54 million dollars in grants (actually cooperative agreements). Grants will range from $600,000 to $8.1 million based…
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CMS Releases Proposed Standards for Navigators and In-Person Assisters
Organizations interested in applying for navigator grants and other stakeholders will want to take a close look at the proposed rules on navigator conflict of interest, training and meaningful access standards. While subject to a 30-day comment period and final rulemaking, the proposed rules add some clarity regarding expectations for federally-funded navigators and in-person assisters…
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A Look At What State Legislatures Are Up To On Navigators
By Katie Keith, Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms In addition to our efforts to track state legislation on the Affordable Care Act’s market reforms (check out our most recent blog on the 2014 market reforms here), our team is also tracking legislation that relates to exchange establishment and development. In this blog—brought to…
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Consumer Advocates Respond to HHS’s Model Application
By Jocelyn Guyer Let’s just say it straight out. Congress handed the Administration a Mt. Everest-sized challenge when it said they must develop a simple, streamlined model application for enrollment in all possible sources of ACA coverage – Exchange coverage, Advance Premium Tax Credits (APTCs), Medicaid and CHIP. It would be hard enough to figure…
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Finding the Pot of Gold at the End of the Navigator Rainbow!
News that a new proposed rule on Navigators is under review at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) hopefully means it won’t be long before we see model navigator training, conflict of interest and privacy standards. With any luck, release of the proposed standards should pave the way for the federal navigator grant solicitation.…
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National League of Cities Receives Funding from Atlantic Philanthropies to Help Cities Improve Outreach and Enrollment
By Wesley Prater The National League of Cities (NLC) recently received a grant by Atlantic Philanthropies to conduct a three-year project, focused primarily on helping cities expand access to Medicaid and CHIP. The project will provide technical assistance and grants to help cities develop outreach and enrollment campaigns. Request for Proposals (RFPs) will be released…
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Assister Types Abound: But Where Oh Where Have All the In-Person Assisters Gone?
Last summer in a refresh of the exchange establishment grants, CMS quietly offered federal funding for a new category of assisters, called “in-person assisters” (IPAs). In November, I summarized what we did and didn’t know about IPAs in this blog post. In a nutshell, IPAs are intended to help exchanges meet their requirement to…
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Most Important Issues for Children in the New Proposed Rule on Medicaid, CHIP and Exchanges
By Jocelyn Guyer After an intensive few weeks spent lugging around binders filled with the latest proposed rule on Medicaid and CHIP, we’ve finally done it! Here is our very best shot at a concise(ish) list of the top issues of concern for kids in the proposed rule. Comments are due this Thursday and, if…
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Assister Types Abound: Seven Steps to Strengthen Certified Application Counselor Programs
If you read the first blog in this series, you know we’re excited about the new Certified Application Counselor program because it builds on the existing and immensely effective infrastructure of community-based application assistance in many states. Here are seven ways to strengthen the proposed CAC program rules to better protect and meet the needs…
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Clogging State Legislative Agendas with Misguided Navigator Restrictions
(Editor’s Note: As was reported in today’s Washington Post by Nurith Aizenman, signing up an estimated 30 million uninsured Americans for coverage will be a daunting task and some state legislatures are making it more difficult. Tricia Brooks, CCF’s expert on navigators and in-person assisters, finds that some state legislative proposals that restrict consumers access…
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Getting Into Gear for 2014: Findings from a 50-State Survey of Eligibility, Enrollment, Renewal, and Cost-Sharing Policies in Medicaid and CHIP, 2012-2013
As 2013 begins, implementation of the major provisions of the ACA, including its coverage expansions, is less than a year away. Following the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the ACA and the 2012 elections, efforts to prepare for 2014 are moving into high gear in many states. The majority of states are capitalizing on web-based…
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If You Build It Will They Come? Outreach Lessons from CHIP
Editor’s Note: This blog post originally appeared on the State Refor(um) By Carla Plaza, National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) If you build it will they come? If history repeats itself, they will, but not without intentional, focused efforts to reach, assist and enroll individuals and families into health care coverage. Prior to the…
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Eligibility and Enrollment Systems: An Advocate’s IT Toolkit
Efforts to improve public coverage programs have long been stymied by the prevalence of outdated IT systems that are the source of numerous consumer issues from confusing and conflicting notices to lost eligibility records to inadequate data to measure program performance. Meanwhile the state of technology and web-based services has advanced significantly, leaving many Medicaid…
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Eligibility and Enrollment Systems: An Advocate’s IT Toolkit
Efforts to improve public coverage programs have long been stymied by the prevalence of outdated IT systems that are the source of numerous consumer issues from confusing and conflicting notices to lost eligibility records to inadequate data to measure program performance. Meanwhile the state of technology and web-based services has advanced significantly, leaving many Medicaid…
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In-Person Assistors May Look a Lot Like Navigators
Quietly embedded in the June 29, 2012 update of the exchange establishment grant funding opportunity announcement (FOA) was a new category of consumer assistance – in person assistance (IPA). While federal officials haven’t been completely mum about this announcement, we have yet to see anything in writing (beyond what’s in the FOA and exchange blueprint)…
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Medicaid Expansion: Out of the Woodwork or Onto the Welcome Mat
By Lynn Blewett, SHADAC Director (Editor’s Note: This blog originally appeared on the SHADAC blog. ) The Woodwork Effect In health policy terms, the “woodwork effect” is a phenomenon that occurs when an expansion of public program eligibility takes place (whether through federal action or a state-level initiative), and individuals who were already eligible for…
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More Children Have Health Insurance Thanks to Medicaid, CHIP and ACA
Today we released a report with some encouraging news for America’s children and families. Our report found that despite the fact that childhood poverty remained high, the number of uninsured children declined last year. This builds on the good news on young adult coverage gains reported in September. The Affordable Care Act was behind the young…