Navigator group looking for those to help with education, outreach | The Augusta Chronicle

Now that federal grants have been awarded to help educate and enroll those in Georgia interested in health plans offered through the Affordable Care Act, the hiring and job responsibilities will be similar to those who are already doing the job in other states, one of the grantees said Friday.

On Thursday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced $67 million in grants to 105 organizations in the 34 states who will be under the federally-run Health Insurance Marketplaces. Those groups will hire “navigators” who will help educate and provide in-person assistance to enroll people in private health plans offered in the marketplaces beginning Oct. 1.

Other states chose to run their own marketplaces and received money that can be used for their navigator programs. In some states, people have already been hired and are fulfilling those roles.

One of the two groups that got a grant to run a navigator program in Georgia, Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation or Seedco, is a national nonprofit focusing on economic development. It is already working on navigator programs in New York and Maryland and has already hired for some of them, said Brian Robinson, the senior vice president for external affairs for Seedco.

“People want jobs, this is a pretty good job, it pays reasonably well in Maryland so we’re definitely getting some applications,” he said. “We’re not having any trouble staffing up.”

via Navigator group looking for those to help with education, outreach | The Augusta Chronicle.