For insurance exchanges, states need ‘navigators’ — and hiring them is a huge task

Washington Post ^ | February 4, 2013 | N.C. Aizenman

[Seizethecarp]

Signing up an estimated 30 million uninsured Americans for coverage under the health-care law is shaping up to be, if not a bureaucratic nightmare, at the very least a daunting task.

While some people will find registering for health insurance as easy as booking a flight online, vast numbers who are confused by the myriad choices will need to sit down with someone who can walk them through the process.

Enter the “navigators,” an enormous new workforce of helpers required under the law. In large measure, the success of the law and its overriding aim of making sure that virtually all Americans have health insurance depends on these people. But the challenge of hiring and paying for a new class of workers is immense and is one of the most pressing issues as the Obama administration and state governments implement the law.

Tens of thousands of workers will be needed — California alone plans to certify 21,000 helpers — with the tab likely to run in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Over the short term, some workers may be funded by federal grants, state budgets or private money. But over the longer term, most of the costs are to be covered by the new health-care marketplaces, called “exchanges,” being set up in every state. The money will come from fees that insurers will pay to sell their plans on the exchanges.

Under the law, the exchanges must fund enough navigators to ensure that every applicant who needs assistance can get it.

In a kind of Catch-22, the money must come from an exchange’s operating funds, which will rely on fees from insurers. But those won’t be available until at least Jan. 1, well after navigators must be in position.

[Seizethecarp]

This roll-out of Obamacare will be an even more horrific disaster much sooner than I had imagined!

The insurance companies who are to provide healthcare policies beginning Jan 1, 2014 are required by law to fund the literally hundreds of thousands of “navigators” who must be hired, trained and pass a certifying exam to be able to help sign people up by Oct 1, 2013 but:

“In a kind of Catch-22, the money must come from an exchange’s operating funds, which will rely on fees from insurers. But those won’t be available until at least Jan. 1, well after navigators must be in position.”

[Brad from Tennessee]

One of the main objectives of ObamaCare (and Dodd-Franks) is the creation of a huge new bureaucracy staffed by people who will owe their allegiance and vote to Democrats and are likely to join a union.

[Vince Ferrer]

Enter the “navigators,” an enormous new workforce of helpers required under the law.

That won't raise rates at all.

[gleeaikin]

Obamacare ping

[sand88]

That won't raise rates at all. I made the mistake of reading some of the comments at for this article at the source.

It is astounding how many comments are by rabid leftists. They write that single payer would be the ideal; that all the problems that will result of implementing ACA will be the fault of Republicans and the insurance industry.

The left is truly insane -- they had a true genetic hostility towards capitalism and FREEDOM.

I am convinced that a significant number of humans have a genetic disposition to wanting to be ruled by the State, which they believe to be "perfection."

[Flick Lives]

I am convinced that a significant number of humans have a genetic disposition to wanting to be ruled by the State, which they believe to be "perfection."

Many people never emotionally mature enough to take charge and prefer the State to tell them what to do throughout their life. Sort of like a poor substitute for mommy and daddy.

[Gandalf_The_Gray]

While some people will find registering for health insurance as easy as booking a flight online, vast numbers who are confused by the myriad choices will need to sit down with someone who can walk them through the process.

Enter the “navigators,” an enormous new workforce of helpers required under the law.

Lest we forget, the internal revenue service has a help line with "helpers" to walk you through the process too. Call on Monday and write down their answers, call again on Tuesday with the same questions. It a sure bet that you'll never get the same answers. Try the same questions with the Senior Center volunteers and get the same confused results.

With over 22,000 pages of "regulations" you never get the same answer twice. Obamacare has only 2,500 pages defining the framework of the law. The actual regulations are still being written by thousands of bureaucrats in scores of agencies.

Regards,
GtG