Getting Florida Covered: Effective Strategies for Enrollment in the

Health Insurance Marketplace

Jodi A. Ray, MAProject DirectorFlorida Covering Kids & FamiliesUniversity of South FloridaTampa, FL

Families USA Health Action 2014Building the Best Enrollment Assistance

Program – Panel PresentationJanuary 23, 2014

Washington, D.C.

Objectives

• USF’s role in the Health Insurance Marketplace

• Rate of uninsured in Florida; opportunities and challenges

• Managing consumer expectations• Outreach and education

USF’s Role in the Marketplace

• 8/15/13, awarded $4.2M grant to perform Navigator

duties:

Enrollment

Outreach

Education

• 10 consortium partners

• Covers 64 of 67 counties in FL

USF’s Consortium Partners

Uninsured Population in FL

Insurance in FL – Opportunities and Challenges

Priorities for Successful Outreach in FL• Outreach is results driven and connected to

actual enrollment• Use relevant messages for specific target

populations• Partners use sound data demonstrating

connection• Partners share best practices and lessons

learned for potential replication

Managing Consumer Expectations• Methods of enrollment

Healthcare.gov Phone Paper application

• Enrollment process Create an account Complete an application Review eligibility results and QHPs 2nd appointment for QHP enrollment

• Application “stuck” Ability to remove application and start over

• Paying 1st premium Must make 1st premium payment before coverage can begin

• The Medicaid gap <100% FPL, resource manual http://issuu.com/lkuznia/docs/updated_resource_manual

Engaging Communities• Health & Human Services/Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

• Enroll America

• CHIP and Medicaid state agencies

• FQHC’s

• Faith-based organizations

• United Ways

• Healthy Start Coalitions

• Health Planning Councils

• Businesses

• Labor Unions

Tips and Tricks• Use resources:

• Navigator SOP; Help Desk; Healthcare.gov FAQs; CMS Marketplace Weekly Friday Webinars and Blogs; Other Navigators

• Contact Contract Manager

• When in doubt, try removing the application and starting over.

• If trying to link phone Application ID # to online account, online account (username and password) may need to be established for at least 24 hours before it can link up to an existing App ID #. (Prompt consumers to do this ahead of appointment if appropriate.)

• Casework vs. Advanced Resolution: For consumers who had problems with the website and were unable to submit an application and missed deadlines for enrollment/coverage, call the Help Desk and request Casework. ARS is still for website and application glitches.

More tips...• If you are receiving a verification error at the end of the application requiring you to sign, save and return

later to the application:• First attempt to remove and resubmit the application• If you receive the same error message, contact the call center and tell them that you are having issues

with completing the application online. Ask the CSR if they are able to complete the application via phone on their end.

• If the CSR is unable to do anything with the current application, ask them to begin a new phone application and proceed to erase the online application so that there is not any confusion about which application is being used.

• If a consumer with a green card/permanent legal resident status cannot be verified and you get the message that states that the issue will be resolved in 24 hours, call the Navigator Helpline and have them to do a new application for the consumer and sync the completed phone application with the online account.• The call center has the ability to skip the “optional” portion of entering the consumer’s Alien Number

and Card #. If you attempt to do this, you will not be able to move forward in the application• If you contact the Navigator Helpline, but you are unable to get the application submitted online because

their system is experiencing errors, politely end your conversation with the CSR and call back. Someone at the call center CAN get the application through.

• ** You may need to call the Navigator Helpline multiple times until you receive a CSR that can assist you. In any case, remember to be polite and professional despite the disposition of the CSR.**

• Total consumers reached through outreach and Navigator meetings: 72,163

• Outreach events: 842

• Number attending outreach events: 67,227

• Number of Navigator Enrollment Appointments with Consumers: 4,936

• Number of HHS trained and FL registered Navigators: 92

• Covers 64 of 67 counties – approx. 66% of entire Florida uninsured population

*The number of appointments has nearly doubled each month over the previous month from October through December. The jump in people who received assistance selecting and/or enrolling in a QHP jumped significantly between November and December.

YTD Numbers

*numbers are not necessarily reflective of the number of people as some applications were filed on behalf of multiple people and CMS/CCIIO is the official source of actual enrollment figures.

Jodi A. Ray, MANavigator PI/Project Director

Florida Covering Kids & FamiliesUniversity of South Florida

jray@health.usf.edu813-974-3143

www.FloridaCoveringKidsandFamilies.health.usf.edu