Bemoaning Budget Cuts, Health Care Navigators Say Feds Don't Get It
The Trump administration says many of the organizations that help people enroll in health plans on the federal insurance marketplaces don't provide enough bang for the buck, sometimes costing thousands of dollars to sign up each customer.
So it is cutting their funding, some by as much as 90 percent, the government told the groups last week.
But the navigators, as they're called, say the government doesn't understand the time involved in the effort or the complexity of the enrollment challenge. Nor do federal officials appreciate the variety of tasks that navigators are asked to handle, they say.
Some customers don't know how to use a computer. Many don't understand insurance lingo — what's a deductible, anyway? — and don't know how to pick the best plan for their needs. Consumers get confused about how to estimate income and determine household size to qualify for premium tax credits that are available for people with incomes up to 400 percent of the poverty level (about $98,000 for a family of four)..