May 20, 2013, 7:25 p.m. ET - Wall Street Journal
Role of Health-Law 'Navigators' Under Fire
Lawmakers across the country are tussling over the Obama administration's
plans to create a small army of assistants to guide millions of Americans as
they sign up for new health-insurance options available this fall.
Backers of the health-care overhaul face an uphill battle to spread the word
about the law, in the face of consumer research that suggests most uninsured
people know little about it and are skeptical about the value of health
insurance generally. Some Democrats have openly worried that the administration
is doing too little to make sure the enrollment process goes smoothly.
That is where the "patient navigators" are supposed to come in. But their
role has come under question from Republicans who have criticized the
administration's plans to educate people on the new legislation. Health and
Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has already drawn fire for
conversations with health-industry executives in which she encouraged them to
help the nonprofit organization leading the campaign to publicize the law's
benefits. Critics said that it was inappropriate for the government to turn to
outside groups.
The health-care law envisioned each of the 50 states running a marketplace
where people without insurance could comparison-shop for policies and apply for
subsidies to help them pay premiums. To smooth the process, each of the states
was to set up a program that would enlist nonprofits, professional associations
and unions to act as navigators.
Part of the plan has already changed because 34 states won't be running their
own marketplaces and are leaving part or all of the job to the federal
government. In those states, Washington took on the task of granting money for
hiring navigators.
Critics see the navigators as potential competitors to insurance brokers, and
say that they are effectively federal government employees who should be subject
to rigorous screening.
The Republican-led House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is
planning to grill the Department of Health and Human Services about the program
in a hearing Tuesday. At a private briefing with federal officials last month,
committee aides say they were told there would be no criminal background checks
for navigators or requirements that they hold a high-school diploma.
"Because navigators and assisters will have access to personal and sensitive
information such as Social Security numbers and tax returns, we believe they
should be held to the same hiring standard as U.S. Census and [Internal Revenue
Service] employees," who get Federal Bureau of Investigation background checks,
wrote Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.), the chairman of the committee, and two
other Republican members in a letter to the department.
The department says its standards are thorough and include several provisions
designed to ensure that navigators are independent from the insurance industry.
Individual navigators will receive "extensive" training on privacy and security
as part of their preparation and will be subject to federal regulations
governing data protection, an HHS spokeswoman said.
Many states are contemplating or have already passed legislation adding
requirements for navigators. Some would bar navigators from advising consumers
unless they obtain a separate state license.
"The main issue is making sure that people who interact with consumers
actually know what they are talking about," said Wes Bissett, senior counsel for
government affairs to the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America,
an industry group that is promoting the restrictions on navigators.
Backers of the health-care law say the navigators will largely be working
with lower-income people, and in many cases helping them to sign up for federal
subsidies or government programs such as Medicaid—not the typical work of a
health-insurance broker.
"Applying for financial assistance is also a complicated business, and
brokers don't have a lot of experience with that," said Tricia Brooks, a
research assistant professor at the Georgetown University Health Policy
Institute.
Supporters of the law say the real issue is a shortage of money for
navigators. Congress directed state exchanges to set up their own navigator
programs and didn't specifically set aside federal funding for them. That left
Health and Human Services to cobble together $54 million to share among the 34
states where the marketplaces are under federal direction. Some 28 million
uninsured people live in those states.
North Carolina will have only $2.2 million for its navigator program. Groups
that receive grants from that allocation may try to stretch it by using
volunteers to act as navigators, but some are already wondering if it is worth
the trouble to apply in the face of a state bill requiring separate
certification, said Adam Linker of the North Carolina Justice Center's Health
Access Coalition.
"At this point we're going around begging groups that already know a lot
about health insurance," said Mr. Linker.
Write to Louise Radnofsky at louise.radnofsky@wsj.com
A version of this article appeared May 21, 2013, on page
A4 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Role of
Health-Law 'Navigators' Under Fire.
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