Subject:
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Grant Application with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the Cooperative Agreement to Support Navigators in Federally-facilitated Exchanges.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval by the Department Director of the submission of the grant application with the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for the FY18 Navigator Grant program.
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Strategic Plan:
Ensure Public Health, Safety, and Welfare
2.2 Be a facilitator, convener and purchaser of services for those in need
Deliver First Class Services to the Public and our Customers
5.1 Maximize partner relationships and public outreach
5.2 Be responsible stewards of the public’s resources
Summary:
Pinellas County is seeking grant funding for a new one-year award to continue to provide navigational services to individuals and families seeking assistance with enrollment into the federal marketplace or other qualifying plans.
Funding will be used to re-hire four (4) Navigators contracted during the last fiscal year, to fulfill the full scope of required navigator duties as outlined in 45 CFR 155.210 and 45 CFR 155.215 which includes providing education, information, selection, and (re)enrollment services for Qualified Health Plans (QHP) or other Federal/State/Local healthcare programs to residents in a manner that is sensitive to cultural, linguistic, physical, mental, and educational differences.
It is estimated that 60,000 consumers will be reached through outreach and education events, 2,800 consumers will have one-on-one interactions with Navigators and 550 will be assisted with the selecting/enrolling in a QHP.
Pinellas County will continue to serve all individuals and families within the County’s geographic service area. The County intends to target areas with higher concentrations of individuals “left behind” including uninsured or underinsured residents, Medically Underserved Populations (MUP) areas, and communities with a high concentration of the population living at or below 100% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
Background/Explanation:
Pinellas County has been the recipient of federal funding for the Navigator Program for the past five (5) years through two one (1) year awards, and in 2015, Human Services received and accepted a three-year competitive grant award (2015-2018) from CMS.
Human Services utilized the funds to hire navigators (5 of which are bilingual) to provide outreach and education to thousands of citizens, and to perform navigational services.
Since the program’s inception in 2013, Pinellas County Navigators have hosted or attended over 1,500 outreach events reaching over 319,688 residents in targeted community events across the County. The Navigators provided one-on-one assistance with over 27,267 consumers including 3,385 individuals whose primary spoken language is a language other than English. Beyond attending and personally interacting with consumers, the County’s marketing program, inclusive of bilingual, television, radio, print, social media and brochures/posters, have reached millions of consumers to raise awareness of the program and consumer’s ability to have assistance with accessing health insurance coverage.
Due to the federal government overall funding cuts for this program, Pinellas County has scaled the Navigator Program to maximize resources to continue assisting clients with (re)enrollment, outreach and education services in the community. By assisting residents in the enrollment process, the County is pro-actively working to reduce the number of uninsured residents, creating a healthier community and providing more access to care.
Fiscal Impact:
This grant application for federal funding is for $275,916.00 for a one-year period. The US. Department of Health and Human Services also provides federal funding under the Health Resources and Services Administration, Health Care for the Homeless program in the amount of $83,477.00 to provide outreach and enrollment assistance. No County match is required.
Delegated Authority:
Authority for the Department Director to approve this grant application is granted under the County Administrator’s delegation of authority dated March 28, 2016.
Staff Member Responsible:
Daisy Rodriguez, Director, Human Services
Partners:
County Libraries
Neighborhood Community Centers
Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County
Attachments:
Intent to Apply Approval
SF-424 Grant Application for Federal Assistance
2018-2019 Project Abstract Summary
2018-2019 Project Narrative