CMS Cuts Funding to ACA Navigator Grants

According to Healthcare Finance:

“The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has cut the amount of Navigator funding for the Affordable Care Act from $36 million this year to $10 million for 2019.

The grant money to Navigator organizations is to help consumers wade through ACA health insurance options, but CMS said the number of people who enrolled through the program didn’t justify the millions of federal dollars spent.

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CMS also announced a new requirement that Navigator funding be based on performance from previous years, and also that representatives give consumers information on options other than ACA qualified plans, such as association health plans, short-term, limited-duration insurance, and health reimbursement arrangements, or HRAs.”

ANCOR is reporting on this issue because people with disabilities may use navigators to understand their health care options. ANCOR has also supported efforts such as the National Disability Navigator Resource Collaborative, which gives navigators resources to understand cross-disability issues.