CMS to Award up to $10 Million in Navigator Grants for Plan Year 2019

Eligible individuals and entities, including hospitals, can apply through Aug. 9 for funding to operate as “navigators” in states with a federally-facilitated health insurance exchange in plan year 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced yesterday. The agency expects to award up to $10 million in navigator funding by Sept. 12, down from $63 million and $36 million in plan years 2017 and 2018, respectively. “Enrollment data from previous years show that navigators failed to enroll a meaningful amount of people through the federally-facilitated exchange, and not nearly enough to justify the millions of federal dollars spent on the program,” the agency said. Thirty-four states are expected to have an FFE in plan year 2019. For more on the funding opportunity, see CMS’s Frequently Asked Questions document.