Health insurance ‘navigator’ help for poor ending
A program to assist poor Ohioans sign up for subsidized health insurance under Obamacare is shutting down after having its federal funding slashed by the Donald Trump administration.
“Without adequate funding or a viable path forward, we have been forced to make an impossible choice,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, which oversees the “navigator” program started with Obamacare.
For four years, the charity relied on the aid to fund a network of 10 local nonprofit organizations which helped people understand insurance options available through Medicaid or private coverage offered on federal and state marketplaces, and get them signed up. Federal Health and Human Services officials last week notified the food banks that its funding for the coming year would be cut to $485,967, or 71 percent less than it received this year and severely undermining outreach efforts across the state.
“Due to this decision, Ohio consumers who need unbiased, in-person help with learning about, shopping for and enrolling in health care coverage will lose access to trusted Navigator resources in their communities. It will also result in direct job losses for hardworking Navigator personnel that have achieved incredible results during their tenures,” Hamler-Fugitt said.
“It is with incredible disappointment that we regrettably announce our decision to exit the Navigator program.”
The program closes just weeks before open enrollment starts Nov. 1 and runs through Dec. 15. Statewide, 54 navigators are losing their jobs. In the past four years, more than 44,000 poor Ohioans have obtained health coverage with their help. Outside the open-enrollment period, navigators assist people to access primary care, report changes in their income, and provide other services.
In all, about 1 million Ohioans have gained health insurance through Medicaid expansion or plans offered through the exchanges.
But as Republicans continue seeking to repeal the 2010 health-care law, critics have questioned the value of navigator grants. The Trump administration recently announced it would slash navigator funding by 41 percent and also make deep cuts to advertising for Obamacare.