The Department of Health and Human Services announced last week that it was granting $60 million to Navigator organizations in states using the Federally-facilitated Health Benefits Exchange.
Navigator organizations work to raise awareness about the Exchange, educate consumers about health benefits, and assist individuals in completing their health benefits application. Organizations that work specifically with Native American, Latino, and Asian American communities pepper the list of grantees, but all organizations focus their work with people who may need support with their application and will likely qualify for Medicaid or subsidized insurance.
Between November 15, 2014 and February 15, 2015 (the second period of Open Enrollment), these groups will aim to reach the people who might have been missed in the Affordable Care Act’s first year of Open Enrollment, which ended last March.
As organizations prepare for this important task, Project Vote hopes they will also train staff members to tackle the voter registration component of health benefits enrollment and effectively discuss voter registration with their clients—many of whom may have no prior experience or access to vote registration. We congratulate and commend organizations that have already taken steps to incorporate voter registration training and materials into their Navigator and assistance programs.
Project Vote will continue to offer resources, training, and technical assistance to organizations that wish to offer this valuable service to their communities and ensure their eligible clients have the information and support they need to register to vote.
We wish the organizations the best of luck and look forward to working with them in the future.
For more information about Project Vote voter registration trainings and materials for Affordable Care Act assisters, contact Kate Bass, Affordable Care Act Program Advocate at kbass[AT]projectvote.org or by phone at (202) 210-5291.