On September 2, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) announced that it had awarded $67 million in
grants as part of its Marketplace Navigator program.
The CMS Marketplace Navigator program is a service designed to
provide assistance and outreach to consumers in connection with
understanding their healthcare coverage options, identifying
available financial assistance and enrolling in healthcare
coverage. The CMS program includes "navigators" and
"assisters" who are trained as consumer resources in
their respective communities and are available in person to answer
questions and assist with navigating and evaluating the range of
healthcare plans available on HealthCare.gov, as well as other available
public healthcare programs such as Medicaid.
The latest Marketplace Navigator grants were awarded to
approximately 100 organizations located in the 34 states that
operate either "Federally Facilitated Marketplaces" and
"State Partnership Marketplaces." Of the 100 grantees,
approximately two-thirds were previously awarded Marketplace
Navigator grants. The latest grants were awarded for a three-year
period and CMS will monitor and review the performance of grantees
on an ongoing basis to evaluate each grantee's
performance.
The CMS announcement comes two months before the November 1
beginning of the Marketplace Open Enrollment period, during which
consumers can enroll in healthcare insurance in those marketplaces,
or exchanges, that are operated by the federal government either
alone or in partnership with a state.
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