Dear Navigator:
Now
that healthcare.gov is working better, why do people need your help?
Sincerely,
Unconvinced
 |
| A re-occurring Health Matters series |
As
a child I learned that you should “Never criticize a person until you've walked
a mile in his moccasins.”
Most
of us don’t wear moccasins anymore, but the saying still counts.
For
instance, what is it like to be uninsured in Utah?
Because
I’m a navigator, I meet uninsured Utahns every working day (and some weekends).
Many
of the Utahns who seek help from Navigators and Certified Application
Counselors (CACs) have been uninsured for
many years.
Some for decades. Most of them worked, but they didn’t get insurance from their
employers. Some were students working on their degrees. Many were parents with
small children. Many were retirees waiting for Medicare to start. Plus, a
significant minority of the people who visited our offices didn’t have email
addresses, let alone access
to the Internet. I frequently began an enrollment appointment by saying, “Okay,
let’s get you set up with an email address.” While lacking email might seem
impossible in today’s world of smartphones
that track your cholesterol and BMI, it’s a reality for thousands of Utahns.
Let’s
face it: Signing up for health insurance is not easy. And it’s especially true
if you are an immigrant, have children, are divorced, lack a credit history, or
speak English as your second or third language. Not all Utahns can slip on a fitted
tee-shirt and faded jeans and recline on a comfy beige couch to sign up for
insurance (you know the stock photos
I’m referring to).
This
week the Kaiser Family Foundation released an amazing report about our
work. The “Survey of
Health Insurance Marketplace Assister Programs” is a must-read
for anyone curious about why the U.S. uninsured rate in the U.S. has dropped 25% in
the last 9 months. While the survey results are national, they ring true with
Navigators and CACs who work here in Utah. For instance, 64% of assistors
reported they spent an
average of 1-2 hours working with each client.
So
even if healthcare.gov is working better (and it is), many Utahns
still need assistance—from a single question to a four-hour appointment—to sign
up for health insurance.
That’s
the role of Navigators and CACs.
We
are the glitch-fixers.
We
are the trouble-shooters.
We
are the question-answers.
And
we don’t stop until you are satisfied with your choices.
What
can we fix?
Lots
of things.
First,
healthcare.gov incorrectly told many Utahns they qualified for Medicaid when
they absolutely didn’t. This created a
backlog of
application transfers at Utah’s Department of Workforce Services (which wasn’t
Utah’s fault). Navigators and Certified Application Counselors (CACs) could
easily tell a person if they qualified for Medicaid, and get their applications
unstuck (by calling healthcare.gov’s 1-800 number) and moving again.
Second,
many consumers wanted to keep their doctors. Enrollment specialists could
confirm their providers would accept their new insurance. Unfortunately, too many people
signed up
for insurance without double-checking this important detail. Plus, some
insurers published
inaccurate provider lists. As a navigator, I always
made sure a client’s providers were included in their new insurance plan by
calling both the providers and the insurers.
Third,
I heard from several Utah consumers who signed up for insurance without being
told they qualified for premium subsidies. One Summit County resident left
$1,500 on the table before we were able to help him. Our goal as Navigators and
CACs is to deliver the best advice to Utah consumers, which includes making them
aware of all their options (like subsidies).
Will
navigators be around for the next open enrollment period that beings on
November 15th?
We
hope so. In mid-June the federal government announced that Utah is eligible for
$665,000 in grants to fund the assistance program for the 2015 enrollment. Last
year Utah navigators received
$806,000 distributed
among three groups (including UHPP/Take Care Utah, where I work). The Take Care Utah hub is currently applying for this new round of grants for 2015. If we receive it,
then Utah’s navigators and CACs will continue to be the glitch-fixers and
question-answerers for thousands of Utahns who need a little extra help.
Find Out More:
Take Care Utah
website
(recently re-launched)
Survey of Health Insurance Marketplace Assister Programs
Kaiser Family
Foundation
July 15, 2014
PDF: http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/8611-survey-of-marketplace-assisters2.pdf
Executive
Summary: http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/8611-t-topline-survey-of-health-insurance-marketplace-assister-programs.pdf
2013/2014 Utah Open Enrollment Results
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