“The Health Insurance Marketplace is Open,” declares the government website healthcare.gov, which debuted as scheduled this week even in the midst of what has been reported as the most significant government shutdown in history.
The website features information on a variety of plans across different pricing structures and coverage levels, as well as specific details on each state’s individual health marketplace. There are tabs for individuals and families, small business owners, as well as the option of asking questions in a “live chat.”
The large amount of web traffic caused the site, which serves 30 states, to malfunction with some users encountering error messages throughout the day.
On Oct. 1, millions of previously uninsured Americans took to the Internet, help center hotlines, and face-to-face visits with Obamacare experts, better known as navigators, to sign up for coverage.
Navigators in Indiana
A recent Kaiser Health Tracking Poll indicates that the public’s biggest questions about the Affordable Care Act (ACA) centers on cost and basic information. The poll shows that half the public, 51 percent, and two-thirds of the uninsured, 67 percent, say they don’t have enough basic information on how ACA works and how the law will affect their families.
Obamacare navigators, individuals who will act as guides to those who are seeking coverage in the open marketplace, are available in communities across the nation to assist and educate.
Carla Baxter, principal consultant for Baxter & Associates LLC in Indianapolis is the first certified provider for the Indiana Navigator Pre-Certification Program.
Baxter has traveled across the state training future navigators on affordable care basics in preparation for a state mandated certification exam in which participants must score at least 70 percent. The potential insurance guides will also be required to pass a criminal background check.
Her course held in Valparaiso last week, drew a class of about 40 who will, upon certification, go on to serve the estimated 140,000 uninsured of St. Joseph’s County.
When asked what the necessity was for navigators Baxter cited “reduced confusion” as a key reason for their existence. She said navigators are a community resource for those seeking affordable care.
Although Indiana has decided not to expand Medicaid, but instead will focus on funding the Healthy Indiana Plan, Hoosiers are still able to enroll on healthcare.gov.
However, because of lack of funding, Indiana has fewer options as far as enrollment assistance is concerned.
Affiliated Service Providers of Indiana, a non-profit behavioral health provider and education network, received the largest federal grant to train navigators. The group plans to send navigators to mental health centers as well as the campuses of Ivy Tech.
Other community organizations are doing what they can to expand the availability of educational resources.
Even in the face of current adversity, the Indianapolis Public Library, in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, has announced a two-day open house at its central branch where adults are invited to learn about resources related to the ACA and receive assistance from trained volunteer navigators.
The event, which is scheduled for Oct. 8 and Oct. 9, may not go as planned as organizers are facing an unprecedented set of obstacles given the fact that the government is currently closed for business.
“As of right now we are working with local contacts to determine if the (library) events will happen because some of the people we were working with have been furloughed,” said Susan Davis, adult program specialist for the Indianapolis Public Library.
Davis went on to share that all library branches have pamphlets and other literature on the marketplace. Although librarians have not received the navigator training, they are prepared to share information and provide resources to those in need.
Organizing for America (OFA), a non-partisan grass roots funded organization who is “dedicated to advancing the policies that the American people voted for in 2012” met recently on the steps of the Indianapolis Social Security Administration Offices in an effort to draw attention to the local affects of the federal shutdown. Their concerns centered around issues involving military pay delay, the future of over 25,000 local federal employees, and of course health care.
The event drew a 50-100 person crowd throughout the duration and according to Peter Luster of OFA the overall attitude was that “a lot of people are just fed up.”
“The thing about this battle and why people are so frustrated is because the (ACA) has been law since 2010,” said Luster “We’ve had an election since then, and a re-election since then, the money has been appropriated and people are fed up because Congress has wasted so much time trying to defund something that the voters have stood behind.”
OFA has began rallying volunteers to go out into the community to collaborate with other groups and faith-based organizations to continue sharing information on affordable care. Although OFA volunteers cannot actually sign people up on the exchange, they are collaborating with local certified navigators and connecting people to those resources.
Open enrollment will continue until March 31, 2014. However, those wanting to be covered by the January 1 deadline should be signed up prior to December 15.
For more information and updates on the health care exchange visit indianapolisrecorder.com/health.
