April 24, 2015 | National Disability Navigator Resource Collaborative

TAX SEASON SEP COMING TO AN END

This is the last week for the Special Enrollment Period (SEP) for those individuals who are subject to the tax penalty and you’ll want to be sure to check out our news item on the SEP from yesterday. In the news item, you can find links to prior articles on the requirements for the SEP and what the state-based marketplaces are doing. There’s also a link to a helpful SEP screener on Healthcare.gov and a link to promotional graphics to promote the final push like the one shown here. To access this news item, click here.

Do you wonder about the roles agents and brokers play in the marketplace? Check out our blog post this week on this topic. We asked some within our network about what they’ve heard about agents and brokers helping consumers enroll, especially those with disabilities. The blog post summarizes what we found and also provides some resources from CMS that address the role of agents and brokers and what navigators need to know about when and if it is appropriate to make referrals to them. Also, if you have an experience with an agent or broker in the marketplace (either positive or negative) that you would like to share with us, the blog has a link for you to submit those comments. This blog post can be accessed by clicking here.

Last week, the Urban Institute released a report entitled “Taking Stock: Gains in Health Insurance Coverage under the ACA as of March 2015.” The report looks at the rates of the uninsured from 2013 through March 2015. To learn the specifics of what is included in the report and to download a copy of it, check out our news item by clicking here.

Are you interested in learning more about how the essential health benefits (EHB) are determined in each state? The first step is identifying the three largest small group products in each state. CMS released a report of these earlier this month. To read more and to download a copy of the report, check out our news item by clicking here.

We’ve previously listed resources from the Georgetown University Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) and last week, they had the opportunity to testify before the House Ways and Means Committee on the Affordable Care Act. To read our news item on their testimony and to download a copy of the testimony, click here.

In case you missed it last week, CMS released the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for navigators in both the federally facilitated marketplace as well as the state partnership marketplaces. The deadline for applications is June 15, 2015. To read more, check out our news item which has links to the grant page and FAQs about the FOA. That story can be accessed by clicking here. CMS is also hosting a series of webinars on the FOA applications. The dates and times are listed below. Click on one to register for the webinar.

Are you looking for local partners to help with outreach to the disability community? The NDNRC has funded eleven Community Outreach Collaboratives (COCs) for the second year of enrollment. The COCs will increase collaborations in the community, dissemination and outreach efforts and enrollment of people with disabilities in the ACA. To find a COC, click here.

Weekly updates are now archived on the NDNRC site. All Weekly Updates since October 3, 2014 can be accessed by clicking here.