Health Outreach Partners https://outreach-partners.org/2014/03/outreach-and-enrollment-open-enrollment-lessons-learned-and-strategies-moving-forward/ Export date: Fri Apr 19 1:53:46 2024 / +0000 GMT |
Outreach and Enrollment: Open Enrollment Lessons Learned and Strategies Moving ForwardOpen enrollment into the new health insurance marketplace under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) began on October 1st, 2013, signaling one of the biggest changes in decades to our health care system. The Marketplace will increase the quality, availability, and affordability of private and public health insurance to the many of the 47.3 million uninsured individuals[1] 1 in the U.S. Community health centers (CHCs) are playing an essential role in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Nationwide, health centers have expanded their current outreach and enrollment assistance activities to facilitate the enrollment of millions of eligible health center patients and service area residents into affordable health insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplaces, Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program. In 2013, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provided 1,159 health centers with more than $150 million in additional funding to help their uninsured patients and others in their approved service areas gain affordable health insurance coverage. In 2014, HRSA awarded an additional 58 million to support these efforts.[2] 2 On December 12, 2013, Health Outreach Partners (HOP) hosted the national Peer-to-Peer Webinar, "Outreach and Enrollment: Open Enrollment Lessons Learned and Strategies Moving Forward" including three panelists:
Highlighted below are key points and strategies discussed during the webinar. The State of Outreach and Enrollment In the first few months of open enrollment, hundreds of thousands of eligible individuals enrolled in private plans in the health insurance marketplace.[3] 3 In addition, states that chose to expand Medicaid[4] 4 were able to begin enrolling newly eligible, low-income individuals for in their Medicaid program. Source: Kaiser Family Foundations "Current Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decision", January 2014 Despite individual state circumstances, CHCs across the country have identified similar challenges to outreach and enrollment and strategies to increase enrollment for underserved populations during this first open enrollment period. Challenges and Strategies CHCs serve populations that often face challenges accessing health insurance, health care, and other services. Outreach and enrollment programs saw existing challenges as well as new challenges to outreach and enrollment during the open enrollment period. Peer-to-Peer panelists identified some of these key challenges including:
In spite of these challenges and barriers, there are many effective strategies to increase enrollment for CHCs' most underserved populations. However, no single strategy will work for every population and in every situation. HOP's Peer-to-Peer panelists use multiple strategies to increase the effectiveness of their outreach and enrollment efforts. Some of the key strategies identified during the webinar include:
Conclusion The Affordable Care Act brings significant changes and improvements to our current health system and increases access to health insurance for uninsured populations. CHCs are critical to ensuring our underserved and vulnerable populations receive the support and assistance they need to enroll in health insurance and access the health care they need. To do so, outreach and enrollment programs must target their outreach and enrollment efforts to strategically address the unique barriers of their priority populations. To view a recording of the "Outreach and Enrollment: Open Enrollment Lessons Learned and Strategies Moving Forward" Peer-to-Peer webinar, please visit HOP's Peer-to-Peer page 7. Resources and Tools Health Outreach Partners has created a number of resources to support outreach programs in connecting underserved populations to health insurance and access to health care. Health and Human Services and Health Resource Services Administration Resources
Additional Resources
For More Information on the Organizations Involved on This Webinar:
This publication was made possible by grant number U30CS09743 from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HRSA [1] 20 "The Uninsured: A Primer - Key Facts about Health Insurance on the Eve of Coverage Expansions". Kaiser Family Foundation. October 2013. Last Accessed on January 27, 2014. http://kff.org/report-section/the-uninsured-a-primer-2013-3-how-and-why-has-the-number-of-uninsured-people-changed/ [2] 21 "Outreach & Enrollment Assistance Awards to Health Centers". Health Resources and Services Admnistration. http://www.hrsa.gov/about/news/2013tables/outreachandenrollment/ 22. Accessed on March 3, 2014. [3] 23 "December Enrollment Report". ASPE Office of Health Policy, December Enrollment Report, December 11, 2013. [4] 24 The Medicaid Expansion provision expands Medicaid eligibility to cover almost all U.S. citizens under 65 with family incomes up to 138% of the FPL. [5] 25 Kendall, J., & Sullivan, J. (September 2012). Best Practices in Outreach and Enrollment for Health Centers. In Enroll America. Retrieved on October 26, 2012, from http://www.enrollamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Best_Practices_in_Outreach_and_Enrollment_for_Health_Centers.pdf 26 |
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