Covered California Announces Community Organizations to Help Northern Region Consumers Get Person-to-Person Help with Choosing and Using Health Coverage
Friday, July 17, 2015
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Covered California announced it is expanding the gateways in Northern California counties where consumers can get help with enrolling in and maintaining health coverage.
“We know it is important for consumers in the northern counties to get confidential, one-on-one help from trusted sources in their communities. Partnerships with community-based organizations are instrumental in helping Californians get the support they need when selecting and enrolling in a health insurance plan,” Covered California Executive Director Peter V. Lee said.
For the upcoming third open enrollment, Covered California announced that it intends to award more than $10 million in grants statewide to Navigators — community-based organizations that provide consumers in-person enrollment assistance, renewal assistance, ongoing support and education on how to get the best value from their health plan.
“This is as close as it gets to having enrollment assistance at your doorstep,” Lee said. “We continue building partnerships across the state by providing new grants to community groups to engage people directly and help them get the coverage and assistance they need.”
Statewide, selected organizations under the 2015-2016 Navigator Program will receive grants of between $50,000 and $500,000. A full list of grantees and amounts Covered California intends to award is available online at 2015 – 16 Navigator intent to award list.
Within the Northern California region, approximately 162,000 consumers are eligible for subsidies to help them pay for coverage.
During open enrollment for 2016, nearly 30,000 Certified Insurance Agents, Certified Enrollment Counselors and other representatives across California will be available to help consumers apply for health coverage.
Enrolling in person is important to many consumers, and Certified Enrollment Counselors in the Navigator Program play a critical role by providing one-on-one assistance to consumers who need it. During the last open-enrollment period, approximately 70 percent of eligible consumers enrolled or renewed with assistance from Certified Insurance Agents or Certified Enrollment Counselors, including Navigators, or received help by phone from Service Center representatives.
The Navigator Program is a mandatory requirement of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and is funded from revenue generated by Covered California. Organizations were selected through a competitive grant application process.