Reminder: the Republican 'concerns' ACA Navigators is 100% dishonest garbage
Please do not buy into it. This is ACORN redux. The 'criminal background check' stuff is fear-mongering in order to smear navigators and to scare people away from enrolling.
Those who endorse this attack are carrying water for the Koch Brothers.
Obamacare navigators are doing the same thing for the ACA that volunteer Medicare and Medicaid counselors provide for those programs.
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2013/sep/30/bill-nelson/bill-nelson-says-florida-already-has-similar-navig/
States receive federal grants to hire people that help Medicare beneficiaries enroll for coverage, and this year Florida received about $3 million.
The Florida version of the program is called SHINE (Serving Health Insurance Needs of Elders) and is overseen by the Florida Department of Elder Affairs, which contracts with local Area Agency on Aging groups. Florida has 463 SHINE volunteers.
SHINE volunteers aren’t involved in Obamacare and aren’t called navigators, said Ashley Marshall, spokeswoman for the state Department of Elder Affairs.
But they fulfill a similar role in that they help guide Floridians who need insurance.
SHINE volunteers assist seniors primarily with questions about Medicare, and sometimes Medicaid if a client qualifies for both. Outreach efforts include a helpline and spreading the word at community events.
"What we provide is free unbiased information," said Charles Franckle, SHINE coordinator for Pinellas County. "When people are approaching Medicare they might contact us to ask us should they sign up for Part A and B and how do they do it."
...
Seeking to assuage concerns about Obamacare navigators, Nelson said, "Many state and federal agencies have such ‘navigators’ involved in helping folks maneuver through the often complex processes associated with filing benefits claims, for example - even buying health insurance."
Let’s review our findings:
SHINE volunteers help seniors with questions about Medicare.
State Medicaid counselors assist the poor who use that health insurance program.
KidCare navigators provide information about that state health insurance program for poor children.
The state veterans’ affairs provides benefits counseling.
There are differences in terms of some of the requirements and training to become an Obamacare navigator versus those who provide assistance for some of these other programs. However Nelson didn’t say they are identical: He said that we already have such ‘navigators’ to help Floridians access services.
We rate this claim True.
Criminal background checks for Medicare and Medicaid counselors are determined at the state level, not the federal level, so this security argument falls apart as transparently political with 1 minute of scrutiny.
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