Shorter enrollment period for Obamacare raises concern

The Obamacare open enrollment period starts Nov. 1, and Jodi Ray is worried.

Her biggest concern is the new open enrollment deadline, which has been shortened by six weeks from previous years and will end Dec. 15 instead of Jan. 31.

“I’m a lot more anxious this year, because we don’t know what to expect with what has gone on,” said Ray, who’s in charge of the Navigator program in Florida.

People who miss the deadline “could be out of insurance at the beginning of the year,” she said. worry about that a lot.”

The Trump administration has cut Obamacare’s advertising budget by 90 percent, shortened the enrollment period to six weeks and reduced outreach by cutting the funding for in-person navigators, who help people “I understand the enrollment process.

“We’re still serving the same amount of people in half the time and with less resources,” Ray said.

Some state lawmakers aregetting involved.

On Tuesday, Sen. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, and Rep. Nick Duran, D-Miami, called on all members of the Florida Legislature to increase outreach within their constituencies.

To get free, in-person Navigator assistance, call 877-813-9115 or visit coveringflorida.org.

nmiller@orlandosentinel .com