IDPH Announces 37 Organizations Selected for Federal Grants in Year 2 of Get Covered Illinois Navigator Program

CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced today a list of 37 organizations that will receive a share of $25.8 million in federal funding to participate in the second year of Get Covered Illinois’ In-Person Counselor (IPC) Program, the state-run outreach and education arm for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Illinois.

The selected organizations will take part in an intensive training program in the coming weeks leading up to the launch of the second enrollment period starting on Nov. 15. The federally funded program establishes a network of “navigators” across the state whose job is to educate consumers about the financial assistance available under the ACA for those who qualify based on their income, and help them navigate through their healthcare options.
 
“The state of Illinois carried out a very effective outreach and education effort in the first year of ACA enrollment, thanks in large part to the vibrant network of grantee organizations that we established across the state,” said IDPH Director Dr. LaMar Hasbrouck. “We intend to build on that success in the second enrollment period. This is a strong team of organizations that will be aggressively reaching out to the uninsured in every corner of the state and making sure they know what they need to do to get covered.”

The grantees were chosen through a competitive scoring process administered by IDPH. Each proposal was evaluated based on the ability to meet the requirements of the work, including organizational capacity, quality of the submission and scope of work. Regional and cultural needs were also considered to ensure proper statewide distribution of funding.

The state’s robust network of grantee organizations played an important role in the success of GCI’s first year of ACA enrollment. More than 217,000 Illinoisans enrolled in a plan through the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace during the initial six-month enrollment period, exceeding the federal goal of 143,000 Marketplace enrollees by 52 percent.

Coupled with enrollment of more than 451,000 people to date in Medicaid under the ACA, nearly 670,000 Illinois residents have enrolled in health care as a result of the state’s enrollment efforts.

Navigators are currently available to provide enrollment assistance to those who have experienced a qualifying change-in-life circumstance (such as change in marital or job status) during our Special Enrollment Period  and for Medicaid (which has no fixed enrollment period), until the Marketplace opens on Nov. 15.

Enrollment for coverage in 2015 through the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace will run through Feb. 15, 2015.

“Get Covered Illinois is very excited to get to work with this team of trusted community organizations,” GCI Executive Director Jennifer Koehler said. “Our granted partners play a critical role in our efforts to educate and enroll the uninsured in Illinois by making face-to-face contact and being there to answer questions and guide consumers throughout the process. For year two, we are encouraging them to be out and about in their communities and to take a very aggressive approach in their outreach activities.”

For a link to the selected grantee organizations, go to: http://www.illinois.gov/IPC-Program.

For more information about the state’s implementation of the ACA, go to: www.Getcoveredillinois.com.