Obamacare navigators gear up for Nov. 1

For Anne Packham, it’s business as usual.

She’s been the lead Obamacare navigator in Central Florida since 2014, and despite a tumultuous year for the health law, she’s once again gearing up for the start of open enrollment Nov. 1.

“We tell people nothing has changed. Affordable Care Act hasn’t changed. The marketplace is still here. Subsidies are still here,” Packham said Friday.

But some things are from last year.

The Trump administration cut the Affordable Care Act’s advertising different budget, shortened the enrollment period to six weeks and reduced outreach by cutting the funding for in-person assisters.

The U.S. Congressional Budget Office’s latest outlook projects an average 15 percent nationwide increase in premiums next year, although that won’t affect consumers who receive subsidies, which is the majority of enrollees in Florida.

“People who’ll be most affected are those who don’t qualify for subsidies, which in Florida is about 10 percent,” said Packham.

Florida Blue, which will once again offer plans in all Florida counties, said it couldn’t share its 2018 rates until the state made them public. But company officials have said that uncertainty about payments for cost-sharing reductions will have a substantial impact on them.

Florida navigators received their annual funding from the federal government this week, although the $4.9 million was 15 percent less than what they had expected.

Jodi Ray, director of Florida Covering Kids and Families, which manages the federal grant, said the organization will have to adjust the statewide budget.

“Rest assured, we will continue our hard work and make best efforts on informing the public and helping them gain the coverage they deserve and access to the health care they need,” she said in a news release.

Packham, who has been leading the most successful enrollment program in Florida, said she wasn’t sure if any of her 14 navigators in Central Florida would be eliminated.

The team enrolled 130,000 Central Floridians in a plan in Orange County alone for 2017, compared with 109,000 in 2015.

In Florida, about a dozen counties, including Seminole and Osceola, are projected to have more than three insurance carriers. Orange and Lake will most likely have two carriers to choose from.

This year’s open enrollment begins Nov. 1 and ends Dec. 15.

“If you miss the December 15 deadline, you may need to wait until 2019 to get coverage or make changes to your plan,” Florida Blue said in a statement.

Republicans continue their efforts to repeal Obamacare. The most recent effort, under the Cassidy-Graham bill, proposes capping Medicaid and replacing Medicaid expansion funding and subsidies with a smaller block grant. Democrats have started rallying against the bill already.

To make appointments with a local navigator, call 877-564-5031, or visit coveringcfl.net.