IDPH announces it will be accepting applications for year 2 of Get Covered Illinois Navigator Program
Following highly successful first year of ACA Enrollment, Illinois is gearing up to again assist health care consumers learn about subsidies and compare options

[July 10, 2014]  CHICAGO – The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced that it will be accepting applications through August 1 from community organizations and other qualified entities that wish to participate in the second year of Get Covered Illinois’ (GCI) In-Person Counselor (IPC) Program, the outreach and education arm for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Illinois.

“Get Covered Illinois carried out a very comprehensive and successful statewide 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. “As we put together the team for the second year, we want to make sure that it remains just as strong and is able to reach consumers in every corner of the state.”

The grant program is managed by IDPH in conjunction with GCI, which operates the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace through a partnership with the Federal government. Applications will be competitively scored based on quality, organizational capacity, and proposed scope of work. Special consideration will be given to ensure proper statewide distribution of funding based on population as well as regional and cultural needs.
 

“Get Covered Illinois is proud of the job our team did in the first year of ACA enrollment when we exceeded our federally established enrollment goals for the Marketplace by more than 50 percent,” GCI Executive Director Jennifer Koehler said. “In year two, we are looking to build on this success. We will be encouraging our granted partners to put more of an emphasis on direct community outreach activities, because we know that groups that had an active and visible presence in the field achieved good results in the first enrollment period.”

GCI recently completed a highly successful initial enrollment period in which federal authorities announced 217,000 people enrolled in a plan through the Illinois Health Insurance Marketplace. This initial six-month enrollment period exceeded the federal goal of 143,000 Marketplace enrollees by 52 percent, putting Illinois among the top tier of states.

Coupled with enrollment of approximately 369,000 people to date in Medicaid under the ACA, more than 586,000 Illinois residents have enrolled in health care as a result of the state’s enrollment efforts.

GCI’s statewide network of 250 grantee organizations and 1,200 trained Navigators has remained in place since the end of the first enrollment period and is now focused on targeted outreach to help those who gained coverage to stay covered and use their benefits to stay healthy. Navigators are also providing enrollment assistance to those who qualify for a Special Enrollment Period as a result of a change in life circumstances (such as change in marital or job status) and for Medicaid, which has no fixed enrollment period.

Enrollment for 2015, year two of the Marketplace, begins Nov. 15 and will run through Feb. 15.

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

For more information about the application process for the Illinois In-Person Counselor (IPC) Grant Program, go to: http://www.idph.state.il.us/fundop.htm

[Text received; MELANEY ARNOLD, ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH]