Feds slash Illinois funding for Obamacare assistance
The federal
Last year, the
"This work is extremely important," Thomas said.
"I'm really concerned without these trusted sources on the ground that the uninsured rate will continue to go up instead of down," Becker said. It wasn't immediately clear Thursday exactly how many navigators the state might lose.
"They had been enrolling hundreds of people in the community," Brosnan said. "Re-enrollment is going to start happening and we're not going to be able to (help) the families."
This year,
Funding for navigators has been cut nationwide. Across the country, the federal government is distributing
"As the exchange has grown in visibility and become more familiar to Americans seeking health insurance, the need for federally funded navigators has diminished," the federal agency said in a news release earlier this summer announcing the
The agency noted that insurers have increased their outreach. It said that navigators, in recent years, haven't enrolled enough people "to justify the millions of federal dollars spent on the program."
The federal government is also encouraging navigators, this time around, to educate consumers about options other than insurance through the Obamacare exchange, such as short-term plans and association health plans.
Most people in
That was down from about 356,000 the year before -- a dip that wasn't entirely unexpected given that people had less time to enroll for coverage than previously and funding for outreach and advertising was also down.
Consumer advocates aren't sure how much of an impact this latest cut might have on next year's exchange enrollment or insured rate. Exchange enrollment begins
It's not exactly clear why
Many have also decried the prices of exchange coverage and a lack of options on the exchange.
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