‘Obamacare’ cuts stoke layoff fears

Funding for enrollment aides trimmed by 40%

The Trump administration’s decision to cut funding for a program that helps people sign up for Affordable Care Act health insurance has left some Arizona organizations facing budget shortfalls, reduced hours and possible layoffs.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cut funding by more than 40 percent this fiscal year for counselors, or “navigators,” who provide in-person enrollment help to those signing up for the Affordable Care Act

— or “Obamacare” — insurance and Medicaid for low-income and disabled residents.

The funding cuts mean two Arizona entities that received navigator grants — the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers and the University of Arizona — don’t know whether, or how much, they’ll receive to pay for these positions during the coming enrollment period.

The organizations have not received funds since the last grant period expired on Sept. 1.

The health-insurance outreach cuts come as the Affordable Care Act’s three-month enrollment period also is being reduced to six weeks beginning Nov. 1. More than 140,000 Arizonans enrolled and activated their marketplace plans last February.

The Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers administers a $1.1 million grant on behalf of 15 other non-profits and community groups, mostly in metro Phoenix and Pima County. AACHC has warned these groups that it can’t guarantee funds will be available to pay for the navigators, which means those organizations may need to find alternative funding or take other steps such as reducing hours, furloughing or eliminating navigator positions.

“It was quite a shock,” said Allen Gjersvig, AACHC’s director of navigator and enrollment services.

Dr. Daniel Derksen, director of the University of Arizona’s Center for Rural Health, oversees the UA’s $538,000 grant. He described the timing of the funding cut as “highly unusual.”

The navigator grants spanned three years with annual renewals.

Along with cutting the navigator grants, the Trump administration announced it would slash the nationwide advertising budget for Obamacare this fiscal year to $10 million, one tenth of last year’s $100 million.

Trump administration officials said the funding cuts were meant to reduce overall costs, arguing that low enrollment figures did not merit a big advertising splash and some navigator groups lagged in the number of signups.