https://goo.gl/NGCjyR The Trump administration is drastically cutting the money being spent on encouraging people to sign up for the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Thursday.
CMS will spend $10 million on "educational activities in order to meet the needs of new and returning enrollees," the agency said in a press release. "CMS will target its advertising and outreach activities to educate consumers on the new dates of the Open Enrollment Period through digital media, email, and text messages. These outreach methodologies have proven the most effective in reaching existing and new enrollees. Outreach will also be targeted based on specific demographic and geographic data."
In the last Open Enrollment period, CMS spent $100 million on education and outreach activities, according to a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) spokesperson; that amount was double the outreach budget for 2015 - $51.2 million – when enrollment was higher.
The agency is also changing the way it awards funds to the Navigator organizations that help people sign up for coverage. Money for the Navigators -- which comes from fees paid by insurers -- amounted to $62.5 million last year; the administration expects to spend $36.8 million this year, the spokesperson said in an email.
"For the upcoming enrollment period, Navigator grantees will receive funding based on their ability to meet their enrollment goals during the previous year," CMS said. "For example, a grantee that achieved 100% of its enrollment goal for the plan year 2017 will receive the same level of funding as last year, while a grantee that enrolled only 70% of its enrollment goal would receive 70% of its previous year funding level, a reduction of 30%. The new funding formula will ensure accountability within the Navigator program."