The Trump administration will give only $10 million in 2019 to Obamacare nonprofits called “navigators” that help people sign up for insurance, a major drop from the nearly $40 million they got this year.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said on Tuesday that the need for the navigators has diminished because Americans are more familiar with Obamacare’s insurance exchanges. The administration gave $36 million to 98 navigators in 2018, which was a 40 percent cut from 2017 funding given out by the Obama administration.
“The exchange is now an established marketplace for individuals seeking insurance,” CMS said on Monday. “Last year we had our most cost effective and successful open enrollment to date.”
CMS also only provided $10 million in 2018 for Obamacare open enrollment advertising, a 90 percent cut from 2017 funding under Obama’s CMS.
The administration said it would give out the money based on performance of the navigators in signing up people under the 2018 open enrollment for Obamacare.
“Enrollment data from previous years show that Navigators failed to enroll a meaningful amount of people through the Federally-facilitated Exchange, and not nearly enough to justify the millions of federal dollars spent on the program,” CMS said. “During the plan year 2018 Open Enrollment period, Navigators received $36 million in federal grants, but enrolled less than 1 percent of the entire FFE enrollment population.”
Navigators have previously said that their duties go well beyond just signing people up for Obamacare. They include answering basic questions from residents about how health insurance works to helping a customer find out if an Obamacare plan covers their doctor.
