By ERIN BECK
Charleston Gazette-Mail
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Affordable Care Act is not dead.
Jeremy Smith, of WV NaviCare, works with three other full-time people, and two other part-time people, ready to help people sign up for health insurance when open enrollment begins Nov. 1. In fact, First Choice Health Systems added one employee to the WV NaviCare program since last year’s open enrollment season.
(AP file photo)
While efforts to repeal the law have failed, the Trump administration has made several decisions in an attempt to weaken it. The administration has slashed the advertising budget by 90 percent, shortened the enrollment period and cut funding for programs that help people who are purchasing plans. Last week, Trump also signed an executive order seeking to increase the use of plans that aren’t compliant with the ACA’s requirements.
West Virginia, though, is one of the few states with a fully funded Navigator program, which helps people sign up for insurance. Nationwide, the program has been cut by about 40 percent.
Funding for First Choice Health System’s Navigator program, WV NaviCare, increased 23 percent, from about $242,000 to $300,000. The free service is grant-funded. It also helps people enroll in Medicaid and CHIP.
The other grantee in the state, the West Virginia University Research Corp. received $300,000, instead of $357,000, a decrease of about 16 percent. Smith said the funding level in the state has been consistent at $600,000 each year during the three-year grant period. Reductions in other states ranged from about 8 percent to 82 percent.
Smith said WV NaviCare typically serves West Virginians who live in more rural areas, with limited computer skills.
“It’s a vulnerable population that we serve that just needs that extra help to pick their insurance plan,” he said.
First Choice Health Systems had expected formal notice of their grant funding on Sept. 1. They found out through a public statement from the administration on Aug. 31 that funding levels would be tied to whether they reached enrollment goals.
“It was definitely a little bit of a shock, at first,” Smith said.
They learned later that month that they would receive $300,000, the amount they had expected.
West Virginia is one of three states that received the same amount of funding, according to a list sent to and released by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The other states were Delaware and Kansas.
First Choice Health Systems was never told why, Smith said.
“They never released the formula,” he said, although he added that he had surmised that the government did not include Medicaid and CHIP enrollments, but included private plan enrollments, when determining grant awards.
The agency assisted 421 people in the 2015-16 federal fiscal year, and 935 in 2016-17.
While Smith predicts he won’t see television commercials promoting Healthcare.gov this year, First Choice Health Systems will continue to do its own outreach, mainly through fairs and festivals.
Penny Womeldorff, of the West Virginia University School of Medicine, which oversees the WV Healthy Start Navigator Project, has said the shortened enrollment period means, “It’s even more important to have the navigators available for people who have questions about how to enroll or how to choose a plan.”
Some federally qualified health centers also have navigator programs.
Last week, West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Allan McVey announced that he had approved rate increases for the two companies offering private insurance plans on the federal health insurance marketplace in West Virginia. He approved the increases based on the assumption that the Trump administration no longer would continue a form of financial assistance to patients who make under 250 percent of the federal poverty level, referred to as cost-sharing reductions.
Days later, Trump announced that his administration would not make the payments. On Tuesday, Senate leaders announced that they had reached a deal, agreeing to pay for those subsidies for two years.
To reach First Choice, call 1-844-WV-CARES or 304-356-5834. Information also is available online, at wvnavicare.com. They can help by phone or in person.
The enrollment period begins Nov. 1 and lasts until Dec. 15. People can purchase plans at Healthcare.gov.
