Some groups tasked with signing up people for Obamacare plans, called navigators, are facing budget cuts of as much as 90 percent as the Trump administration slashes funding to the groups for the 2018 signup period.
Currently, 98 navigators receive federal grants each year to assist in signing up and educating people about picking a plan on Obamacare. The navigators received $62.5 million in funding for 2017’s open enrollment period, but the Trump administration reduced funding 40 percent to $37.8 million.
The 2018 funding would be doled out based on their performance signing up people for 2017’s open enrollment.
Department of Health and Human Services officials said the new funding formula would help boost efficiency, as the navigators only signed up less than 100,000 people last year. About 10 million people pay for coverage on Obamacare’s exchanges as of June.
But some navigators say they do a lot more than just sign up people for Obamacare, such as help consumers pick a plan and determine how to choose a doctor.
The Palmetto Project, a nonprofit navigator in South Carolina, received $501,038, more than a 50 percent cut from the $1.2 million it got for 2017.
“It is devastating internally and not a reflection of the quantity or quality of the work that we’ve provided to the residents of our state,” said director Shelli Quenga in an email to the Washington Examiner.
She said the group fielded nearly 80,000 questions from state residents last year on how to understand healthcare options.
Quenga said the funding cutbacks could affect the volume of work it does after 2018 open enrollment ends Dec. 15, but “our staff is here to help right now.”
Other navigators saw even bigger cuts.
Enroll Michigan told the Washington Post that its $1.2 million grant was cut to $129,899. The group Insure Georgia told the Post it got $328,000 after receiving $2.2 million for 2017.
A major problem for navigators is that they have been waiting to hear from HHS how much their grant would be for 2018. The 2017 grants expired Sept. 1.
Jodi Ray, director of navigator Florida Covering Kids and Families at the University of South Florida, told the Washington Examiner that the group temporarily suspended much of its work during the nearly two-week period.
She added that a skeleton crew was able to help provide some support such as scheduling appointments and answering consumer questions.
The group will receive a $4.9 million grant from HHS, a 15 percent reduction in funding from 2017.
“Because of the decreased resources for outreach and marketing, we will need more help from the communities and from the media to make sure the open enrollment window and deadlines are shared and widely publicized,” Ray said in a press release.
Quenga said she learned about the grant after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. She said there remains a funding gap from Sept. 2 to Sept. 12.
HHS also cut funding for Obamacare ads for 2018 by 90 percent to $10 million from 2017.
HHS responded that the release of the funding is forthcoming and that navigators and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which oversees Obamacare’s exchanges, are now working out terms.
“Navigators have been notified of their awards for the upcoming open enrollment period, and the next step is for the grantees to work with CMS to align their activities to the awarded amount and accept the terms of the contract,” said HHS spokesman Matt Lloyd.
Open enrollment will run from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.
