Covered California To Award $30M in Grant Funding for Outreach
Next week, Covered California -- the state's health insurance exchange -- is expected to award $30 million in federal funding to organizations that will help promote the exchange to uninsured residents, the Sacramento Bee reports (Sanders, Sacramento Bee, 5/9).
Background
Covered California primarily will serve individuals and small businesses.
Supporters hope that the exchange will function similar to websites like Amazon and Expedia so that users will be able to choose between various health plans through an easily navigable online store.
The exchange is expected to open for registration in October (California Healthline, 4/26).
Details of Grants
Groups that applied for the grants include:
- Community-based not-for-profits;
- Social service centers;
- Large labor unions; and
- School districts.
The two-year grants will range from $250,000 to $1 million.
According to Covered California officials, about 90% of the grant funding will go toward outreach initiatives aimed at individuals, while about 10% will go toward initiatives aimed at small businesses.
Dana Howard, a spokesperson for Covered California, said that the goal of the grants is to develop a network of established, trusted groups across the state that can perform several functions, including:
- Answering potential enrollees' questions about the exchange;
- Discussing health plan options; and
- Explaining how subsidies could reduce premiums for certain families of four.
Howard said the grants are "one of the most critical components of getting our message out."
She added that once the grants are awarded, any fiscal or performance reports filed by recipients will be released as public records (Sacramento Bee, 5/9). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.